Redemption
by Crystal RoseWing
Summary: Two years after the darkness attacked Albion, Logan returns to Albion with a simple task, to right some of the wrongs that he has done before he dies of an illness. But meanwhile the Queen has her hands full as the Crawler may not be as defeated as hoped
1. Logan Returns

**Okay, I know I have written a fic before for Fable two. But this I was starting as an experiment and I find that I really like it, so if anyone has actually read my other fic needless to say it may end up discontinued as this is my most current interest… there will be some pairings but don't worry, no Mary-Sues… the pairings would be LoganxOC, BenFinnxPrincess, and ReaverxOC.**

**I own nothing accept the plot…**

_Two years after the darkness attacked Albion, Logan returns to Albion with a simple task, to right some of the wrongs that he has done before he dies of an incurable illness. But meanwhile the Queen has her hands full, as the Crawler may not be as defeated as everyone believes… It's going to take some new allies in order to save Albion this time... _

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Logan Returns**_

Queen Elizabeth always hated the rain; she'd hated it ever since she was little… the rain always seemed to bring back bad memories for her…

_Like the night her mother died…_

Sure she may have been little at the time, but she never forgot that night. She could never forget the sorrow of that night… and her dislike of the rain only increased when her beloved mentor, Walter Beck, died in her arms… it had been raining then too… But as for now; the sky had been dark for days. As the looming threat of the impending storm would occasionally rumble through the heavens… no rain, nor any lightning would show in the sky…there was just the deep, rumbling, thunder which foretold that a horrible storm was on its way. As far as Elizabeth was concerned whenever a bad storm darkened the skies of Albion, something bad was never far off.

Two years had passed since the darkness, and Albion continued to regain its normality. Indeed there had been many lives lost but nowhere near as many as there could've been. Elizabeth had worked day and night for months and almost single-handedly raised most of the money that was required. This way she could honor her promises, and yet still defend her people. She had done so well… but every life that was lost still haunted her. The death toll was estimated to be about 10,000... Give or take a few hundred; but either way it was still considerably less than losing the entire population of Albion.

Now she sat looking out the window of her private quarters. Her faithful dog, Coal, was sitting beside her chair, chewing on a bone that the cook had given to him the other day. She sighed as she reached down and rubbed his head… as she thought back on all the events that had transpired to bring her to where she was now in life… she was now the Queen of her people that was loved and revered by all… Well maybe excluding bandits… But otherwise everyone loved her.

…It was a harsh contrast to the tyranny and hatred her brother had generated only a few short years ago…

… _Logan…_

After the final battle with The Crawler, Logan had entered a self-induced exile. He taken a small ship and left Albion… perhaps it was the shame, or his guilt that had driven to leave. He'd done such horrible things to her, to the people, and to the land… but deep down inside Elizabeth knew that Logan was not a bad man. He'd just been very unlucky… He didn't know how to handle the weight of the world on his shoulders; hell it had been hard enough for her to figure out… but even in spite of everything he had done…

…_she forgave him…_

She could not hate him, no matter how much throughout the revolution she thought she did… No matter how many times that she said she did… even though she had told him it right to his face…she knew she couldn't. He was her big brother, and before this mess had happened he had been a loving and caring big brother.

A sudden commotion drew the Queen's attention back to reality, there seemed to be something amiss in the courtyard. From what she could see from her current position, it appeared that two of her guards were violently apprehending someone… And they seemed to be particularly zealous about it too. They were actually kicking this individual after forcing him to the ground. This show of brutality caused a frown to darken her angelic facial features. As she wanted to know what it was that this individual had done to deserve such a harsh treatment.

She stood up and made her way downstairs, expectedly Coal had abandoned his bone in favor of coming with her… As she made her way downstairs, occasionally a glimpse of her white spectral wings became visible… which made many of the staff stare in awe, or the bow with the utmost respect. But their praises only made Elizabeth's frown only deepen. She loved her subjects, but she didn't want to be known as solely as the Queen… Sometimes she wished she could still be considered a normal person. With a life outside of the castles walls… but it didn't look like that was much of an option anymore.

Upon reaching the castles courtyard she could hear the angry voices of her guards yelling at this individual. Their voices were filled with hate and spite… and they really seemed to be _enjoying_ beating on this individual… Just what the hell was going on?

"What're you doing back here? You don't deserve to come back here!" She heard one of the guards yelling as the sound of his boot contacted his victims' ribs over and over again.

"Haven't you caused enough pain yet! Go back to wherever the hell you came from!" The other guard snapped currently hitting this individual's back with the butt of his rifle… It was clear that both guards were completely unaware of the approach of their Queen… Even when she was right behind them.

"What are you doing? She demanded. Her voice was cold and icy. The shock alone caused both guards to stop what they were doing immediately they looked upon her with fear in their eyes. At first she didn't understand why they looked so nervous… That was until she saw who it was that they were kicking…

_... Logan…_

He was bleeding badly, and holding his right arm as it was apparently in very severe pain… A trickle of blood oozed out from just above his hairline. And judging by the contorted position his body was in… he had not fought back as the guards had pounded him. Shock and anger immediately began to flood her body… It showed particularly in her eyes as they seemed to glow with and unnatural rage… And in a flash Elizabeth's spectral wings completely appeared and framed her angelic body in an intimidating manner…

"Get out of my sight! NOW!" Her voice boomed and needless to say; the guards ran like hell itself was after them. Only once the guards were gone, did Elizabeth start tending to her fallen brother.

"Logan?" She questioned and lightly shook her brothers' shoulder. But this caused him to hiss in terrible pain… Clearly his shoulder, as well as his arm were damaged far greater than she originally thought. She quickly looked around to seeing quite a large crowd of her servants were gathering around her and her fallen brother. She could see the looks of disgust and revolt, all clearly aimed at Logan… these looks only stoked her anger; but this was not the time for that.

"You there!" Elizabeth said pointing to two of the chambermaids who recoiled slightly in fear of their Queens very apparent anger and frustration; which even though it was not aimed at them was still a frightening spectacle to behold… "Bring him inside and call for the doctor to treat his wounds immediately!" She snapped; and the two maids obeyed without question. Being extra careful as they helped him up… They wanted to ensure that they would not enrage their Queen any further.

Elizabeth was seething with rage and it could be felt all throughout the courtyard, and her servants were quick to realize now was a good time to leave… And as her staff hastily departed, Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder… just what could have possessed Logan to return to Albion? She sighed loudly feeling a horrible headache coming on... Coal, nuzzled her hand and whined softly, sensing his owner's distress in trying to offer some support in his own way… Although it offered little comfort to her now very heavy heart. Just what was Logan thinking?

And why did she suddenly have such a bad feeling about his return?

While she wanted to immediately go and find out why he had come back she found that she couldn't… She'd been scheduled to have several meetings that day, and Hobson made a big pest of himself in order to make sure she didn't miss any of them… thus she had no choice but to leave her brother to be tended by the castles physician. The castles doctor was an older woman named Eleanor, and she was a very good friend of the young Queen… and some of the only comfort Elizabeth got at the moment was the knowing that Eleanor was a good kind soul, who would not hurt her brother… No matter what he had done in the past.

Of course it didn't take long for the entire castle to find out that Logan had returned. And there was an uproar among the staff about this… None of them liked Logan, many of them had families that had suffered terribly under his rule... And many more wanted to see him dead… the stress and worry about the whole situation made every minute of these mind-numbingly boring meetings take all the longer; and it was hours later, before Elizabeth could finally see her brother…

For what good it did… when she had finally made her way to his room he was asleep. It was also noted Logan's bedroom had remained virtually untouched since he'd occupied it. Elizabeth never had the heart change it into something else, so thus it was exactly the same; if not just a little dustier than usual. When she'd entered, she found Logan sleeping silently in his bed… Although she did notice immediately that his right arm was in a sling. And that his silken purple nightshirt was open revealing many other bruises adorning his rib cage.

Just looking at him in general, Elizabeth realized he did not look healthy. Of course Logan had always been somewhat sickly. She knew that he used to get sick quite often as a child, and would occasionally get very ill as an adult… During the years of stress that he endured after his battle with The Crawler, and his trying to prepare Albion for the coming threat of the darkness… It was no surprise that he had fallen into ill health again. But Elizabeth had thought that maybe once he left Albion his health would improve… If at anything look much worse than before.

"Good evening Elizabeth…" The voice of Eleanor drew her attention away from her brother. The older woman had been sitting quietly by her brother's bedside, and Elizabeth had not even noticed her until she had made her presence known.

Eleanor was an older woman probably in her late 60s to early 70s, her hair was gray and shoulder length. Her eyes were blue; her skin pale though with surprisingly few wrinkles, she dressed simply, her attire was nothing special… just a regular brown dress, with simple brown shoes, and the faded mark of where a wedding band once was still adorned her left hand… for she was a widow.

"How is he?" Elizabeth questioned as the old woman got up and approached her. Eleanor's face fell, and her expression became ominous.

"The wound your guards inflicted on him will heal. Nothing too severe… but he does have a broken arm, a few bruised ribs, and a dislocated shoulder." Eleanor said simply. Elizabeth sighed in relief…

"But I'm afraid… that your brother is dying…"

…_Those words pierced far deeper than any blade ever could…_

Elizabeth froze… it was as though all the blood in her veins suddenly was replaced with ice water. Surly she must have misheard… there was just no way she could have heard that right.

"D-Dying?" She stuttered in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. Eleanor nodded gravely.

"I'm afraid so your Majesty… He's very ill." Eleanor said sadly. Immediately Elizabeth's world began to spin. This could not be happening; this just could not be happening… Not to her brother… Not to Logan.

"How… How long does he have left?" She could barely believe the words are coming out of her mouth but they did.

"A year… maybe little more… or less. It's a very nasty illness." Logan answered before Eleanor could… This made Elizabeth jump. She hadn't even realized he had woken up.

"You… You know?" Elizabeth questioned and Logan nodded weakly.

"It's why I came back sister…" He muttered. Eleanor sensing that she was no longer needed quietly backed out of the room. Thus leaving the brother and sister to converse in private.

"Can't anything be done? Isn't there a cure?" Elizabeth demanded, unable to stop the tears from beginning to well in her eyes. Logan's facial expression remained somber and he slowly shook his head no…

"No… There is no cure for this. And I wouldn't seek one even if there was one." His voice was emotionless… And it was weak. "I guess it's been a long time coming… retribution for all of the horrible things I have done." He was suddenly hit with a coughing fit that lasted about a minute and a half. When he pulled his hand away from covering his mouth, there were specks of red clearly adorning it. It made Elizabeth's heart skip a beat in sheer horror.

"Don't talk in such a way…" She began.

"It's true isn't it? I… What I did to the people of Albion… I can't forgive myself. What I felt was necessary, was all wrong. You showed me that… How you were able to save our people without resorting to the means that I did. It hurts like a knife in my heart, more than the disease that's eating at my flesh and bones… I've done terrible things sister and I can never hope to make the right… At least… not all of them anyway." He whispered.

"You tried… You tried your hardest, you had the best intentions they just…" Elizabeth tried to find soothing words but they refused to come to her. After a moment of silence Logan sat upright and he looked at his sister, his eyes were showing an unreadable emotion...

"I can never hope to make things right… Not with you… or anyone else for that matter." Logan muttered… "But I hope, that maybe… you would allow me to live out what remains of my life here… the thought of dying alone… and in some strange far off place, scares me as much as thinking of what kind of hell awaits for me after my death."

"It's all in the past now Logan; all that's done is forgiven. The people have moved on… I've moved on." She said softly. "And I want you stay here… the castle is still your home. You don't even have to ask if you can stay."

Logan chuckled dryly. "Your heart always was too soft… I was always afraid it would get you hurt... But I'm glad I was wrong." A loud bark caught both Logan and Elizabeth's attention… Coal was obviously tired of not being noticed…Logan smiled weakly and rubbed the dogs head. "It's nice to see that some things really never change." Elizabeth laughed a little at this and after quickly wiping the tears out of her eyes, sat down in the chair beside her brothers' bed.

"…I'm sorry… for Elliot." Logan said sadly. "I know that you two were-"

"It's alright… while it still hurts… I've moved on. I was actually trying to find you; I wanted you to come back. I wanted my big brother to come to my wedding." Elizabeth said with a small smile, and a slight chuckle at her brothers shocked expression.

"Y-You're engaged? To whom?" Logan stuttered. And Elizabeth giggled a bit.

"Ben Finn. We've been engaged three months now." She said softly… "We haven't set a date or anything… but… yeah…" There was a long awkward silence between the royal siblings… before Logan couldn't resist a small laugh.

"I should have guessed… you have a glow about you that only comes when you are engaged to someone you love with all of your heart."

"Like you and Kaya?"

Immediately a look of pure sorrow and pain crossed Logan's face. And Elizabeth realized that she said something wrong… Kaya had been Logan's best friend for many years, and eventually his fiancé… She was his closest companion, much like Elliott was to Elizabeth. It was a strange system that their parents had worked out, the previous hero Queen had often said that she grew up lonely as a child and that she did not want that for her own children… So over time she had many young noble children introduced to her son… in hopes that he would form a bond with one of them. As Logan had been a very shy child… and he had a very difficult time making any friends at all. Eventually the Queen had nearly given up her strategy. Until the two daughters of one of the most mysterious noble families she ever encountered were introduced to Logan... and it was the younger of the two, Kaya who became Logan's closest and most trusted companion. While Logan did become friends with Kayas sister, it was more...

Well… To put it simply… Logan was a little scared of Kaya's older sister…

Her name was Ember. And she had been spit fire from a young age. As all three of them grew older, it was not surprising that Ember joined the Royal guards, and was for a brief time the protégé of Walter… Although he often commented she was too fiery for our own good. It made her a bit of a danger to everyone around her… Thus she was eventually just given the job of Logan's personal bodyguard… Walter had always gotten a laugh from this interesting case of bad logic.

But… It was on the year that Logan went off on an expedition to Aurora, Logan and Kaya had announced their engagement; and while normally Kaya went with Logan on all his expeditions… this time she didn't… Something had happened with their family, and both Kaya and Ember were summoned back to their family's estate; deep in the forest of SilverPines … and Logan was left to go to Aurora alone.

…_We know how that went…_

When Logan returned, he was a ghost of his former self… It was noticeable to everyone. And while he tried to act as if nothing had happened… Within two weeks of his return, he called off his engagement. And what was worse… He told Kaya to leave. It had been heartbreaking as he didn't even give a reason, he just told her to leave… And after many… truly colorful curse words being shouted at him by Kaya; she left. And of course this did not sit well with Ember, who threw one hell of a fit and severely injured most of Logan's new guards… She too left, handing in her resignation in the process. Although Kaya did return once about two months later… Logan didn't even speak to her, he merely had one of his guards remove her from the castle, although she had been stubborn and at first refused to leave stating that she had something important to talk to Logan about… It wasn't until this guard actually threw her down the castle stairs did she limp off and never return.

"You never stopped loving her did you?" Elizabeth questioned… There was a long pause, and then finally Logan shook his head no.

"When I had found out that Albion would be attacked by the darkness… I felt that even being around me was dangerous… I didn't know what to do. I knew it was wrong, but I thought that… She would just be safer far away from me." Logan said… His voice trembled as he spoke. That's when he looked at Elizabeth and his expression could not have been more serious.

"I know I'm dying… And I know that nothing can be done. But before I die… I want to tell Kaya just how sorry I am… Maybe explain myself, I don't know. Honestly I don't even know what I would do right now. I guess maybe… I'd just say goodbye." It was clear Logan was stressed and very upset; his frayed nerves caused him to have another coughing fit… And more red blood dribbled out of his mouth… Elizabeth felt so helpless… She was virtually watching her big brother begin withering away in front of her. She didn't know what to do.

"Once…" Logan breathed his breath coming to him in shallow gasps. "I rest a little bit, I'll go and I'll talk to her face-to-face… But somehow I doubt that she'll even to talk to me."

"You're not going anywhere." Elizabeth said sternly. "You're not healthy enough to travel all the way to SilverPines. Let alone as deep into the forest as their home is! You'll be torn apart by Balverines just entering the forest!"

Logan just rolled his eyes. "What are you going to do little sister? Stop me?"

"I will tie you to the bed if I have too…" Elizabeth warned icily. "If anyone's going to SilverPines it'll be me…" She said softly. Logan looked stunned at first… But after few minutes came to realize that his little sister was right… But far more pressing question in the back of his mind that he hadn't even thought of till this moment.

"Do you think they survived the darkness?" He questioned. Elizabeth expression suddenly changed to one of seriousness and confusion.

"It was very strange Logan… I had to go to SilverPines some time ago to settle a dispute… And I learned that the darkness never even came near the forest. It stopped and went around it. There was not a drop of that darkness anywhere near SilverPines… And I don't have a clue why… As long as Kaya and Ember were in the forest at that time… I think that they'd be fine." Elizabeth said as the mystery of why SilverPines was unaffected by the darkness once again entertained her mind.

"Maybe the darkness was scared of Ember…" Logan joked darkly.

"Could be…" Elizabeth chuckled. "But then again there are a lot of stories about SilverPines. The locals often speak of some kind of ancient and powerful monsters that are supposed to live deep in the forest…"

"What kind of monsters?" Logan inquired.

"Supposedly… it's a pair of hooded shapeshifters with a mask-like faces. Each is estimated to stand almost 10 feet tall… and they have apparently been living in that forest for hundreds of years…" Elizabeth explained with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Somehow I extremely doubt that…" Logan muttered as he settled back into his bed, clearly exhausted. "I'm tired…" He finally muttered.

"Then get some sleep… And don't worry about anything… I'll take care of talking to Kaya. You just rest for now."

"Thank you… Lizzie…" He muttered just as his eyelids drooped closed. Elizabeth finally let those tears that had been welling in her eyes flow freely down her cheeks as she quietly exited her brother's room closely followed by Coal.

"Welcome home brother…" She muttered under her breath as she walked the oddly long walk back to her quarters… And cried herself to sleep at night…


	2. The Guardians

_**Chapter 2**_

_**The Guardians**_

"Who in their right mind would live this deep in the forest?" Elizabeth snapped angrily as she continued on her journey deeper into the forest of SilverPines. Prior to which she had gone to the village and asked some of the locals in which general direction Kaya and Ember's home might be… That had taken a few hours, as it turned out that most of the locals were absolutely terrified of what was deeper in the forest. Eventually she managed to coax the general direction out of the townsfolk… And thus she had been traveling in that direction ever since.

"I can't be going in the wrong direction… At least I don't think I am… Grrr." Elizabeth muttered as she felt a bad headache beginning to form. Though she wasn't sure what it was that was really causing this migraine… Whether it was the fact that she could not find Ember and Kaya's house, or that back at the castle, her brother was slowly dying and there was nothing she could do about it…

A sudden feeling of fear suddenly washed over her like the oceans tide. It was a feeling that she really despised… It was the feeling of being watched… She was used to it but that didn't mean she had to like it…

_Only right now it felt different… _

Whatever was watching her now felt inhuman. A feeling that she had experienced with Hobbes and Balverines before… But this… This just felt worlds apart from them. This feeling distracted her so much that as she hopped over a fallen tree she failed to notice that on the other side of that tree was a sharp drop off… The poor young queen hit every ledge on the way down getting herself covered in plants and dirt before she finally landed in an area full of plants covered in thorns.

"Damn it!" Elizabeth snapped as she managed to stand and make her way out of the thicket she landed in. After she brushed herself off and actually took a look around she stopped…

_Apparently she had found what she had been looking so hard for…_

She was in middle of a secluded valley… It was quite a beautiful area, with several hills covered in ancient trees and beautiful flowers. And running through this little hidden paradise was a small stream; and as Elizabeth looked around for something hidden amongst the trees caught her eye… as she walked closer to get a better look, she saw realized that it was a mansion…

It was big and it was old… If Elizabeth had to guess it must be have been several centuries old at minimum. It was beautifully made, the entire mansion was made of stone and growing all over its exterior were various types of ferns and vines. It was set in an ideal location, hidden within the trees... It practically blended in with the rest of the forested landscape. Although as Elizabeth drew nearer to this mansion, she could not help but notice that it been repaired recently… As she looked closer at one section near the door it appeared as though it's rocky exterior was slightly scorched… As though at one time the whole house must've been ablaze. Well either way she had more important things to think about than that. So she knocked on the door hoping to get this unpleasant business over with…

_There was no answer…_

Elizabeth was not in the mood for this… So she knocked again, harder this time…

_And again there was no answer…_

Elizabeth began to really lose her patience… She had not come all this way, just to be here in the middle of nowhere on the one day that Kaya and Ember were not there. So it was no surprise that the next time that she knocked on the door… she may have applied a little bit too much of her hero strength.

… _And the door broke and fell inward…_

"Whoops." Elizabeth muttered as she picked up the heavy oak door that had broken off its rusty hinges… And she tried in vain for several minutes to fix the now broken door, but upon finding out how useless this was she just propped it up against the wall inside of the mansion. Once that was done, Elizabeth finally got her first look inside of Kaya and Ember's home…

"_Now this is more like what I was expecting… Creepy…" _Elizabeth thought silently to herself as she looked around the house's interior.

As Kaya and Ember were nobles it was not surprising to find that their home was well furnished with semi-expensive furniture. Although it looked like most of their stuff was worn down. The stone floors were covered with ancient looking rugs with intricate designs woven into their patterns. There were several small tables that each were occupied by either some small statuettes of Balverines and wolves or perhaps a vase here and there… All expensive looking. But what really caught Elizabeth eye was that most of the walls were adorned with ancient weapons; primarily swords. Each sword looked very well preserved, and sharp. No doubt they were cleaned with the utmost care, and sharpened to perfection.

Elizabeth walked deeper into the mansion, her eyes skimming the hallways and staircases in hopes of finding either of the sisters. But the house was cold and silent and sent a chill down her spine. To her the feeling of being watched had not diminished, if anything it was being merged with a feeling of pure dread… She did not like it here. And her sense of foreboding did not diminish as she reached what was no doubt the sitting room. The furnishings in this room were… very unusual…

The room was fairly large and circular. There was a large black sofa with two red pillows… And judging by the wear on this sofa, it was frequently slept upon. There was a rocking chair that looked extremely old. But surprisingly not worn down, there was a rug covering the floor. Its colors were purple and gold, and it was oval-shaped. A fireplace was in the center of the room and all pieces of furniture faced it. But here is where it got really strange…

There were two other pieces of furniture in the room… The first was another chair but it was considerably larger than any normal chair should be, it looked like it was made for a giant! And calling it was a chair would be inappropriate, this was by every definition of the word a throne... and it was very well made… The throne itself was adorned with intricate designs of skulls, and set within it were several obsidian and ruby jewels that glittered like wicked stars… There were also several other intricate designs that looked as though they were made with black marble that was literally sculpted onto this throne… Although in spite of its obvious great crafts work, it appeared as though this throne had long fallen into disrepair and had been patched several times very haphazardly with random pieces of wood, and paint… thus leading what was once a gorgeous seat for a ruler, to look very… Well… it just kinda looked tacky…

The next odd item in this room was what appeared to be a birds perch… Only it was 100 times bigger than any bird perch Elizabeth had ever seen before! It nearly went to the ceiling, with maybe a few inches to spare. Not even enough for a bird to sit upon. It was huge, and apparently was crafted very well. Elizabeth did not even want to begin to fathom what kind of winged beast would have roosted upon such a perch.

"Maybe a vulture? No, not even a vulture is not even that big…" Elizabeth mumbled as she looked at this creepy room… It was official Ember and Kaya were clearly not home. This had been a wasted trip, and the Queen had never felt worse… But it was just as she was turning around to leave.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" Barked the voice of the woman who had apparently just come in behind the young queen…

… _Elizabeth looked into the eyes of Kaya…_

Elizabeth couldn't help but stare a little bit, Kaya had literally not changed at all since the last time she had seen her nine years ago. Kaya was an attractive looking woman; she had very long dark brown hair that went down to the center of her back which she kept in a ponytail. She was extremely skinny. Her skin was very pale, like she didn't get out in the sun a lot… Kaya also wore a military suit, much like the one Elizabeth had that she had found behind a demon door, in fact it was almost identical… The only differences were that the trim on the upper body was dyed gray… And where the sun design was usually on the back, Kaya had a light blue design of a crescent moon instead. But other than that it was identical to the standard military suit… But it was her eyes that had really surprised the young queen… Her eyes were like amethyst stones… Beautiful and purple, with a hint of magenta glowing slightly around the pupil.

That was one of the reasons why Elizabeth's mother; Sparrow had been surprised by this particular family of nobles… They all had very unusual eye colors. While Elizabeth had really only seen the eyes of Kaya and Ember, she had forgot how stunning they were… It was said that their great-grandfather, the one who had actually spoke with her mother about arranging for Logan to meet Kaya… It was said that his eyes were as red as fire and blood.

It took Kaya a minute to look over this stranger who had suddenly appeared in her house… Before she realized just to it was.

"Lizzie?" Kaya questioned raising an eyebrow… Elizabeth found herself drawn back into the real world and she cleared her throat and nodded.

"Yes, it's me… Logan's sister." She said with a small smile… Although no such smile was returned by Kaya, who only seemed to frown more so at this.

"I know who you are… Oh and congratulations on the whole becoming queen bit. I should've dropped a letter, but I've been busy… Something I'm sure you're very used to being queen and all." Kaya said as she began walking back towards the front of the house, and with a motion of her hand she indicated for Elizabeth to follow… Which she hastily did.

"There's a reason I'm here Kaya…" Elizabeth began… But suddenly her brother's words interrupted where she was going with this.

"_Please, don't tell her I'm dying… I want her to come on her own, I don't want pity…" _Logan had asked before Elizabeth had set out…

"Oh really? The Queen of Albion has business with me? What do you want?" Kaya asked flatly… She seemed genuinely irritated… Although Elizabeth could hardly blame her, the last time that Kaya spoke to a member of the royal family it was not a pleasant conversation… And then of course there was the current matter that Elizabeth had technically broken into her house… Which certainly could not be helping the situation.

"It's about my brother, Logan…" The very mention of her brother's name made Kaya's eyes glow in a frightening manner.

"Logan? What in the world does he want? I thought that when you took the throne he got the guillotine." Kaya said with a bit of a hiss in her voice. Elizabeth's eye visibly twitched.

"No, he's alive… And he'd really like to see you." At this Kaya burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's rich! First I'm not good enough so he dumps me, and now when he is not King anymore and down and out, he expects me to come back to him! Really?" Kaya snapped… Elizabeth clenched her fists but did nothing, even though right now all that she really wanted to do was punch Kaya in the face for that.

"It's not like that Kay-"

"What the heck happened to the door?" Another voice suddenly interrupted Elizabeth and Kaya's conversation…

It was Ember. Kaya's older sister, though she was not older by much, in fact she was only a year older than Kaya… But there was quite a size difference as Ember stood a good foot taller than her little sister… Ember was also every bit as beautiful as Kaya. Her hair was inky black and extremely long… It flowed behind her like a cape and was not restrained by any form of ponytail or braid. Her skin was as pale as moonlight and just like polished marble, without a single blemish or flaw. Although unlike Kaya, her choice in clothing did not accentuate her own natural beauty… She wore a Men's Magical Coat although it seemed to be missing its ascot; and the heavy coat itself didn't pronounce her curves very well, even less so because the rest of her outfit was Women's Mercenary Gloves, Woman's Highwayman pants, and Men's Magic Boots. Clearly Ember was not one to care a lot about fashion… But again her eyes were immediately noticed and they were just as unique as Kayas…

Her eyes were like firelight. That was at least the first thing that Elizabeth could think to describe them as. Embers eyes were bright gold in color, with a tint of blood red splashed around the pupil. And they were just as haunting as Kaya's eyes…

"We have company Sis!" Kaya said… Oddly loudly… Immediately Ember ran out of the house, but as she was halfway out, she seemed to be pushing something that was apparently trying to accompany her inside back out… And she was muttering something very quickly to whatever it was, before returning inside.

"I don't believe it… Lizard! How have you been?" Ember said cheerfully… But there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Elizabeth however rolled her eyes… God how she had hated that nickname.

"I'm fine but-"

"Get this Ember, Logan wants me to come back to the castle…" Kaya interrupted. A look of shock crossed Ember's face before it turned into an angry sneer…

"Really? Little creep…" Ember hissed darkly. "And he didn't even come to talk to you in person? He sends his little sister? Apparently he really is nothing more than a lowlife little coward."

Something inside Elizabeth snapped and she rushed at Ember drawing her sword… But before she could even begin to swing her blade, she found herself on the floor pinned down, with another sword pressing against her throat… Ember was clearly much quicker than Elizabeth expected.

"Don't ever try that again your Majesty… You may be the Queen of Albion, but you are still in our home. And it's a very bad idea to pick a fight with me or Kaya on our home turf." Ember warned with an amused chuckle in her voice… Her eyes though… The red seem to have flooded into the gold of her eyes making it look like her eyes were alive with a raging fire.

"You do have a lot of nerve Elizabeth… But let's stop playing now, what do you want?" Kaya said flatly as Ember backed off sheathing her sword once more… Ember's sword appeared to be a broadsword of sorts; its blade was an oily black with a red shine accentuating its sharpness along its blade and its handle was also black and had varying designs etched into it as well.

"I want you to come back to the castle… and talk to Logan." Elizabeth said calmly… Well as calmly as she could manage, everything was starting to catch up to her and she was getting angry… And desperate.

"There is no chance in hell of that happening…" Kaya said without even a hint of emotion in her voice. Elizabeth growled as a sudden feeling of helplessness began to fill her heart.

"Please Kaya, I know that he hurt you! I know that he humiliated you! And I know that you are angry and you have every right to be! But… now **I** am asking you to come back and talk to him! If you won't do it for him, please do it as a favor for me!" Elizabeth pleaded to Kaya… Who blinked in surprise at just how desperate the Queen was.

The room was silent for a few long minutes… Kaya's eyes now showed an unreadable emotion although her expression had softened considerably.

"Is this a Royal order?" She finally asked… Elizabeth shook her head no. Again the silence filled the room… Until Kaya sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"I'll… I'll think about it." Kaya finally said, getting a strange look from Ember who didn't say anything… obviously feeling it was not her place. At that Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Kaya…" She said softly.

"I just said I'll think about it… I didn't actually promise you that I'd do it…" Kaya snapped darkly… At that Elizabeth merely nodded. Feeling more exhausted now than the time she had to fight her way through Reaver's crazy mansion.

"I'll leave now." She said softly and both Kaya and Ember nodded.

"There is a path near the North side of the valley that will take you to Millfields… It's a hell of a walk but you shouldn't meet up with too many critters like wolves or Hobbes. They usually stay pretty far away from here." Ember said gesturing with her hand in which direction Elizabeth should go in order to find the trail.

Again Elizabeth merely nodded and she walked out of the mansion… Just as a flash of lightning blazed across the sky, and the ominous storm that had blanketed Albion's skies weeks now finally began to downpour. Almost instantly Elizabeth found herself soaked… outside… alone… in the dark…She silently began to make her way towards the path Ember had mentioned…

… _But something suddenly stopped her cold…_

She could see it as plain as the rain that was pouring all around her… There was a space where the rain seemed to be hitting something that could not be seen... This thing looked like it could have been made of shadows; and the way the rain fell over it showed that it had an almost humanoid form, only much, much taller…

…_It was staring at her…_

Never in Elizabeth's life had she been gripped by this much dread… Not even when she had faced the Crawler… It was as though the emotion of pure fear had taken over her body and forbid her to move. Everything just seemed so wrong here, she could tell whatever this thing was it was extremely dangerous…

…_she heard it chuckle…_

She quickly found herself able to move again, and mere seconds after she had noticed the thing in the rain… She found her Guild seal and warped to her mother's sanctuary where she immediately passed out from the fear… Much to the horror of Jasper who spent the rest of the night tending to his fallen queen.

**(Back at the home of Kaya and Ember)**

"She's gone." Ember said having watched Elizabeth disappear using her Guild seal. Kaya sat in her rocking chair, rubbing her temples as a pounding headache began raging in her head.

"Who in their right mind could have seen this coming? I know I didn't…" Ember muttered as she sat down on her sofa. "I'll fix the door later. It's kind of propped up now, but it should keep the rain out… but still; what do you want to do about this?"

"This is been the day from hell Ember…" Kaya growled at her sister. "I really just want to think about this on my own right now." Ember just let out amused chuckle.

"Really? Then you might want to close your ears… Because here comes the voice of reason." Ember said just as the sound of the broken door once again falling all over, resounded throughout the house. Along with a very deep inhuman growling sound…

"For a Queen she certainly scares easily! Honestly I'd almost forgotten what it was like to scare someone down to their soul… heh… I miss the good old days…" The cackling voice of a newcomer suddenly resounded throughout the room… Only there was something very strange about this voice, it seemed that there was something very wrong with it. The voice was definitely male and it sounded very deep. But there was something else within this voice; it seemed to have an echo to it… A resounding inhuman echo that could chill blood in the veins…

…_The creature that entered the sitting room to whom the voice belonged to, was even more frightening in appearance that it's voice sounded…_

For a moment in the room, it appeared as though a section of the air rippled. Like when a drop of water contacts a still pond. Shadows rippled across a humanoid form before revealing it entirely.

The first thing that was immediately noticed was that the creature was tall, almost about 9 feet and quite muscular. It was also humanoid in shape and garbed in armor, but the armor was as dark as a moonless sky and accentuated with shadowy hues. Billowing behind it was a long tattered black cape, that also was attached to a hood that covered most of its head… although there were two holes on either side of this hood, from which protruded a pair of ram's horns. The horns were as black as night and curled backwards… But it was its face, or lack thereof that was really frightening… All there was, was some sort of mask. The mask was white, although it was highlighted particularly around the eyes with jagged black designs… Like the markings that would appear around the eyes of an evil hero… There were no eyes were visible from behind that mask. There was just a deep blackness… Off to one side there was what looked like some stitches… But it appeared to be made into the mask itself and was not a repair… And last but not least, on its back it had a colossal hunting bow, with what appeared to be a glowing red jewel in its center.

…_This creature could've passed as a warped version of the Jack of Blades…_

"I take it you were eavesdropping." Kaya questioned coldly. The creature growled deeply and from within the blackness of where its eyes should have been, a pair of glowing red orbs suddenly became visible and narrowed dangerously…

"Of course I was! The nerve of that little bitch…" He snarled evilly brandishing his armored claw-like hands. "I should have killed her when I first saw her! Like I do with all intruders…"

"Yeah, and when you do that I'm usually stuck cleaning up the blood and hiding the bodies." Ember said bitterly as she adjusted her position on the couch.

"You can't just kill everyone you don't like… This is not the Void… You don't go around killing everybody that gets into your territory!" Kaya said putting her face in her hands.

"I agree wholeheartedly with Kaya." Another voice said as a sudden rush of air blew through the room. And just like when the first creature appeared… The air rippled, only this time not with shadows, and after a moment another mysterious creature appeared. Only this one was even more bizarre than the first…

It was just as big as the first creature, standing nearly 9 feet tall and its voice had the same strange echo to it, although its voice didn't seem as deep as the firsts. But unlike the first creature… This one looked even less human.

First thing that could be easily seen was that this creature was also garbed in armor, but unlike the first's the armor was very pale, if it wasn't for its obvious metallicness it would have been sheer white; and his body looked thin yet still very muscular. A tattered white cloth wrapped around his chest and covered his head in a hood… But there were two holes on either side of the hood that made room for two gigantic bat-like ears… The ears were white in color, and tinted gray inside. His legs were inhuman, and were digitigrade in appearance but they were still garbed in metallic armor and his feet were lethal three toed talons… His arms were a bit longer than they should have been, and his hands only had four oddly long fingers, but were extremely sharp. However… Protruding from his wrists and extending past his hand was a thin membrane. It stretched far past his arm for about several feet, and was very flexible. The membrane also attached again to his hip… This membrane was in fact colossal pair of wings… His face was a mask just like the other creature, only different; whereas the markings on the first creatures mask looked menacing and evil, the markings were much gentler on this one. On either side of the eyes, where the subtle butterfly like markings that would appear on the face of a good hero, prior to their angelic transformation. These markings were highlighted in green; while entirely surrounding it eyes were the much more noticeable angelic design that will come after the final good transformation. This was a vibrant color of blue. And there was another design of stitches off to one side of mask just like on the other one. But his eyes were very haunting, unlike the first creature whose eyes were hidden in the darkness of its mask unless it wanted you to see them; this creatures eyes were always visible, and they were creamy white… indicating that this creature might very well be blind. Also on its back, seemed to be a pair of Long-Swords… Their blades were glowing bright blue with powerful Will…

… _Overall this creature looked like a mutant bat…_

"Do you even know what we're talking about?" The first creature questioned darkly as he sat down upon the decrepit old throne, his red glowing eyes slowly fading back into darkness…

"No, my ears are just used for decoration…" The second creature replied sarcastically. "Of course I know what you're talking about! I was watching as well… err, you know what I mean. My sight may not be very good but I can still make out what goes on around here."

"Please both of you… I don't need to hear this right now." Kaya grumbled irritably. "I have a lot to think about…"

"What's there to think about? You can't be thinking of going back and talking to that little bastard? Do you not remember the last time? I know I haven't forgotten…" The first creature said coldly; his voice getting to a low growl…

"Of course she hasn't forgotten… none of us have. But still… Kaya I would suggest that you consider going back and talking to him." The second creature said softly to Kaya as he began to spread his wings; and in a single fluid movement, he had darted across the room and his talons then dug into the bird stand… and he hung upside-down from it, slowly wrapping his wings around his body until it appeared that he was wrapped in a cape.

"Have you gone crazy? That is the worst idea yet! What the hell could be gained by talking to the little cretin?"

"What can be gained by not talking to him? We seldom get the news on time out here… Perhaps we missed something? Isn't it better to know what his side of the story is?"

"Who cares what his side of the story is? If I'd had my way I would've killed him and his miserable family as soon as I had the chance…"

"Yes we all know what you would have done… And then there would have been even more trouble than there was… revenge is never the answer." At this the first creature bolted upright his eyes blazing red with anger. Although he did knock over his throne in the process… and most likely he broke something else on it.

"Oh really, well what did we accomplish by listening to you? Nothing! No vengeance, no decapitation, not even a little disemboweling! What does doing nothing accomplish Mr. Pacifist?" He snapped hatefully. Although the second creature didn't even look phased, it that anything he looked bored.

"Try to wrap your mind around the concepts of _'Restraint'_ and _'Self-Control.'_ I know it may be a bit difficult for you… But still, I'm sure you can manage it." The second creature said simply.

"Why you little-"

"Skorm, Avo, would you two just shut the hell up! You're not helping the situation!" Ember growled darkly as she quickly got up, and got in-between the two feuding creatures. Having apparently been fed up by their arguing.

…_The two creatures reluctantly became quiet… _

"Avo started it…" The dark creature, who at this point was no doubt Skorm stated irritably. This caused the bat-like creature who was now identified to be Avo to roll his large white eyes.

"Real mature Skormy… Real mature…"

"Bite me…" Skorm retorted.

"Would you all just shut up?" Kaya roared at everyone. "Look I appreciate the advice, but I really want to make my own decision. So please... Could you guys just go away for a bit? Please? I have a big enough headache now; and you guys bickering like a married couple will only make things worse…"

"Very well… If you need me, I'm going to be killing some nobles over in Millfield's." Skorm said in a very bored tone as he proceeded to walk out through the still-destroyed front door.

"No you don't… If you insist on violence, then we'll kill some Balverines not nobles." Avo said flatly.

"Nowadays what the hell is the difference?" Skorm grumbled as he waited outside for his companion.

"…Touché…" Avo corrected as he hopped off of his perch and followed Skorm outside… Well, it was more like he tripped over the broken door and fell outside… This naturally prompted a round laughter from Skorm… Which caused the bickering to resume until both of them were too far away to be heard anymore.

"…Seriously people used to worship them?" Ember questioned with a slightly amused tone in her voice.

"What was our Great-Grandfather thinking? Taking in those two…" Kaya muttered her voice was clearly tired… Although there was just the slightest bit of amusement in it.

"Well think about it, he found them when they were kids… Small, demonic, insanely powerful, little kids that had somehow crossed over to our world from the Void. Maybe they were cute or something way back then." Ember theorized which prompted a small laugh from her sister. Although it did little to hide Kaya's distress… Embers smile faded. "You know you don't have to go back if you don't want to…"

"Of course I know it… Heh, look at me; right when I think I've moved on with my life something like this happens." Kaya said and judging by her tone… She was nearing tears. "I spent years imagining what it would feel like to go back to the castle… and just beat the living crap out of Logan."

"Don't let Skormy hear you say that…"

"But it's true… I spent years hating him! And so help me God I still hate him! But now that I actually can go back and face him… I don't know what I'm feeling more of… hate or hurt. I don't know how to explain it Ember." Kaya said as she closed her eyes and tears silently began to cascade down her face.

"Look Kaya… No one can make this decision for you. Not me, and definitely not Tweedle-dumb or Tweedle-dumber. I'm sorry sis, but you have to figure this one out on your own." Ember said sympathetically.

"Ember… Are you hoping that I'd say I'm going back to the castle so that you can have an excuse to go to Bowerstone Market and raise holy hell?" Kaya questioned suspiciously as she wiped away her tears… Ember however did her best to put on an innocent face.

"Me? Raise holy hell? Honestly do you really think I'm capable of such a thing?" She asked innocently… While proceeding to pull out a hidden dagger from within her coat and began twirling it around haphazardly.

"Oh, shut up Ember." Kaya said in a defeated tone. "I think… I'm going to go to sleep. I'll figure this out in the morning when my head is clearer."

"We both know you're not going to get any sleep tonight Kaya… But still, you should at least try to get some rest. I'll go out and make sure that our brothers don't get themselves into too much trouble." Ember said as she proceeded to walk out of the house into the pouring rain. Although she did stop and with a little effort managed to put the door upright as she left.

"Have fun Ember… But do try to keep the carnage to a minimum." Kaya said as she stood up from her rocking chair and headed upstairs to her bedroom. Only once the door was closed did she collapse onto her bed; and spent the rest of the night wide-awake… trying to figure out what she should do.

_**Well that's it for Chapter two! Again sorry about the wait, but now that I'm on break the next update shouldn't take as long. Although Reviews also tend to help me write faster so pretty please R&R!**_


	3. Setting Out

**Chapter 3**

**Setting Out**

"I've decided that I'm going back to see Logan." Kaya announced to her family early the next morning. Although it was clear to see that her final decision on this matter had proved to be much to the disdain of Skorm.

"Kaya, I really don't think this is a wise decision… have you forgotten what it was like? How broken your heart was? Why do you want to go back to that?" Skorm questioned gloomily although it was unclear what he was more upset about... The fact that Kaya was going back to see Logan, or the fact that he had once again broken another part of his throne; one of its legs this time… Which Ember was currently trying to fix. Leaving him to sit uncomfortably on the sofa, which was definitely not built to accommodate a creature of his size… Kaya just shook her head.

"I have no intentions of going through that again Skorm... But something just seemed strange about the way that Elizabeth was acting when she came here. I'm really going to satisfy my own curiosity… Don't worry about me though; I know what I'm doing." Kaya said firmly. Even though Skorm seemed far less than convinced.

"You say that now… But I wonder if you will keep thinking that way when it counts." He stated doubtfully... Ember however had just finished repairing Skorm's throne with a few pieces of painted wood and some sticky tape. She stood up and smiled a smile that barely masked her dark intent.

"Well then if that matter is settled, I suggest we set out for-"

"I'm only going with Avo, Ember... you and Skorm are staying here." Kaya said flatly which simultaneously killed Embers malicious grin and managed to aggravate Skorm even more.

"Why can't I come?" Skorm demanded angrily. Avo who was hanging upside down from the ceiling at the moment just chuckled contently.

"Because I will not meddle in Kaya's business, whereas you most certainly will… and also because I heard that one of my favorite authors has come out with a new book. I want to get a copy from Bowerstone Market... Hmm, I wonder if it has come out in Braille?" Avo pondered as he released his grip on the ceiling and dropped down and stood beside Kaya, towering over her much smaller frame.

"I get why you won't take Skorm, but what about me?" Ember also demanded.

"There is no greater engine of destruction in all of Albion then you Ember, and we don't need the unnecessary carnage. Either way I'm sure you two will find something to amuse yourselves… Just for once in your lives do not cause any trouble. Too many people are starting to wonder about how that fire started in Millfields last night." Kaya said warningly to the darker duo before her.

"So… when are you going?" Ember questioned dully, now having realized that she and Skorm were not going anywhere she seemed to have lost all interest in what was taking place. Or at least that was how she was acting.

"We're leaving now actually… and I don't really know when we'll be back. Depends on what Logan has to say… we might be back quickly if I end up killing him and burying him in some shallow grave." Kaya said in a somewhat joking manner. Although the real shame was that Skorm didn't think she was joking.

"Remember to make sure he's dead before you start burying him... Otherwise things really get messy." Skorm warned in full seriousness… Although this warning successfully earned him several strange looks from everybody else in the room.

"Uh… Skorm… Exactly how much experience have you had with burying people alive?" Kaya inquired, though to be quite honest she was more than a little afraid of the answer.

"Let's see… I'm almost a thousand years old, I was worshiped as an evil deity, I have a rotten temperament and I get bored very easily… It's safe to say that I've had a lot of experience on the subject." Skorm chuckled, sounding oddly proud of himself.

"Okaaaay… That was something I **really** didn't need to know." Kaya grumbled.

"Try living with him for as long as I have… That's no picnic either." Avo commented dryly. Skorm did not reply to this… He just flipped Avo the bird.

"Now I will repeat myself only once… Behave… And stay here." Kaya stated once more… Although surprisingly enough she was clearly directing more of this towards Ember rather than Skorm.

"Yeah whatever…" Ember said dryly as she watched her sister and Avo leave… Several moments after their departure, there was a sudden tremendous rush wind against the house and a dull '_Thud'_ as the broken door apparently fell over again.

"Well… They're gone." Ember muttered leaning her back against the wall and putting her hands behind her head in a bit of a lounging position.

"So… What do you want to do?" Skorm asked sounding almost depressed. This tone in his voice did earn him a bit of a surprised look from Ember.

"Don't tell me you actually intend to do what you're told." She questioned. "I sure as hell have no intentions of staying here all day. I haven't set foot in the Bowerstone area in years. You know that whenever we have to go out, we always go to Brightwall where people are less likely to notice if anything really '_unusual' _happens… namely if you two cause any trouble."

"So, we are not going to do as Kaya ordered then?"

"I'm not missing a chance to do something different simply because my little sister tells me not to... I've always had a bit of an issue with people ordering me around. But I would think you above all would understand that." It was strange how it looked as though Skorm's mask suddenly grinned like some sort of demonic Cheshire cat…

"Ah, if I was to get killed tomorrow I would die knowing I accomplished something." He said so contently that it almost sounded as though he was purring. "You'll find that your strong independent spirit will serve you very well in the future… It is this sort of personality that will make others bow before you."

"What about Kaya?" Ember inquired.

"She tends to listen to Avo more than I prefer… She lacks the same… Err… Spirited nature that you have." Skorm muttered darkly. This caused Ember to shake her head and sigh.

"My poor little sister has a much softer heart than I do… and even you can't deny that she's had it tough, especially after that incident with Logan." Ember said sadly as soon she thought back on the events that had transpired all those years ago. A dark scowl began to form on her face as she thought of the heartache her sister had endured during that time.

"Kaya did have it rough… And I fear she's going to put herself through it again... no… something needs to be done about this." Skorm growled under his breath. Ember just rolled her large firelight eyes at him.

"You're going to cause mayhem I know it… And let me assure you that I am completely neutral in this one... Just one thing… if you're going to go and do something that is inevitably going to lead to trouble; all I ask is that you drop me off in somewhere in Bowerstone before all the blood starts to fly." Ember requested. And once again it appeared that Skorms mask seemed to smile only this time… maliciously.

"Of course…" He replied with a wicked chuckle. And at that moment both he and Ember seemed to disappear into thin air…and were without the shadow of a doubt headed straight for the Bowerstone area.

_**(In Bowerstone Market)**_

"Wow… It hasn't really changed all that much." Kaya said as she looked out from a back alleyway into the bustling Marketplace Center. Her purple eyes seemed to glow in an eerily beautiful way as she watched the villagers go about their lives.

"It is nice when things stay the same… Lately the world seems to change too fast." Avo commented from directly behind her, his form hidden by the shadows of the surrounding buildings. Also Kaya noted that it was definitely for the best, if some poor unsuspecting individual should happen to see him they would most likely scream in bloody terror.

"So what are you going to do?" Kaya questioned casting her gigantic companion a curious glance.

"First I am going to get a copy of that book I mentioned. Then I think that perhaps I'll wander around town for a bit… afterwards I will wait for you outside of the castle, though that is as far as I will go. Unless you should need me, then in that case just call for me and I'll hear you... Ears like mine don't miss much." He said gesturing to his large batlike ears. Kaya smiled softly at this.

"I shouldn't take too long… But please try not to get yourself into trouble." Kaya said with a slight chuckle in her voice. Avo's mask seemed to frown at her words.

"Do I look like Skorm?" He questioned sarcastically, his large ears flattening back behind his head like an angry dog. "Let me assure you dear Kaya that unlike my counterpart I do not go looking for trouble…"

"I was kidding Avo; but I do suggest that you try to look a little less… err… scary?" Kaya suggested… Avo paused for a moment then he unsheathed his twin long swords from his back and abruptly slammed their hilts together. Revealing that the two swords were capable of attaching together; no sooner were the blades attached did they begin to glow eerily and then they took on the form of a large worn-down walking staff… Avo then proceeded to hunch over and just like his swords; his body also began to change… He took on the appearance of a man dressed primarily in rags; his draping wings took on the appearance of long tattered sleeves, it also looked like he was wearing a thick and heavy dark brown cloak and hood that virtually hid the rest of his body. His large bat-like ears took on the appearance of ratty old decorative tassels and his masked face took on the appearance of a more human looking face, although it did still look a little bit like a mask since it looked like he could not actually move his facial features.

"How is this?" Avo questioned... Proving that indeed his '_disguised'_ face couldn't move whatsoever because when he spoke, his lips didn't move… Kaya's eye twitched a little bit.

"Um… It's… Okay, just try not to talk to more people than you need to… Can't you make your lips move?" Kaya questioned.

"What you see before you is the best I can do… I am not talented with changing my shape. It would be considerably easier if I just remained invisible; but since I have something I want to do that's not an option… At least I can actually do some type of transformation, Skorm can't even do this. Invisibility is his limit."

"Just don't get screwed over by a sleazy shop owner… some people may try to take advantage of the fact that you're-"

"Don't let these white eyes of mine deceive you Kaya, you know very well that I am not completely blind." He warned, his voice seeming to have a low growl to it.

"Damn it Avo, you know what I mean!" Kaya snapped angrily, but then she stopped and rubbed her temples. "Look I'm sorry… I shouldn't snap at you. It's just this whole thing has me very stressed out."

"I understand Kaya, you needn't apologize to me." Avo said softly tapping his staff lightly on the ground. "I'm heading off now; I suggest that you do the same." And with that he left the darkness of the alleyway and disappeared into the bustling street of Bowerstone Market. Kaya sighed in annoyance…

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" She could not help but ask herself as she began walking toward the looming form of Bowerstone Castle…

**(Elsewhere in Bowerstone Industrial)**

"This place is an eyesore…" Skorm grumbled from his current position on top of one of the many factories that dotted the landscape… Ember stood beside him, and she looked just as revolted at the area she observed below her.

"Agreed… But the good news is that there should be plenty of things to do around here." She pointed out to her towering associate. Skorm growled a little as his attention seemed to be drawn not to the city of Industrial before him, but to the distant form of Bowerstone Castle in the background.

"Do as you wish Ember, I have some business I need to attend to… though you can rest assured I'm not going to cause any trouble." Skorm said darkly. Ember's eye twitched in irritation as she knew damn well he was lying.

"Don't joke with me Skormy… I know what you're up too. You're going to put an arrow through Logan's skull." Ember muttered coldly, her firelight eyes seeming to glow a bit with this accusation. Skorm merely shrugged.

"You're surprised? I thought that you were neutral in this situation?"

"Oh, don't you get me wrong, I am neutral… but I hate Logan for what he did to Kaya; it just was not my place to tell her what to do… No matter how much I disagree with her choice. I know that nothing I could've said would've changed anything…" Ember explained solemnly as she continued to watch the people hurrying their ways through the streets of Bowerstone Industrial.

"We would not be having this situation now if Kaya had only let me kill him all those years ago…" Skorm huffed with noticeable discontent.

"Yeah… We all know better than to cross you. You will hold a grudge forever, and act on it the first chance you get. The only time you will not openly pursue whoever it is that pisses you off is if a member of our family tells you not too." Ember said flatly, and with a hint of darkness in her voice. Skorm was silent for a few moments, whether he was actually listening to Ember or flat-out ignoring her was unclear.

"I'm going now; do you think you can find something to entertain yourself?" Indeed everything Ember had just said had apparently gone in one ear and out the other… This didn't seem to surprise Ember much though… She was apparently very used to being ignored.

"I'm sure I'll find something. Like I said before this place looks _entertaining_. Though I will drop by the Castle a little later, just to see what kind of hell you've unleashed on the place." Ember said cracking her neck and her eyes began to glow eerily in anticipation. And no sooner did those words leave her mouth did Ember back up and then jump off of the top of the factory! A sheer 40 foot drop straight down!

…_And_ _Ember landed on her feet like it was nothing at all…_

Although her sudden descent from the heavens startled quite a few people down on Industrials streets. Several were so surprised that they staggered backwards and fell into the river. Despite the stir her abrupt entrance had made, and the obvious stares she was receiving Ember apparently could have cared less… In fact she began to hum a happy little tune to herself and made her way through the streets of Industrial. She was sincerely hoping to find something '_entertaining_' to occupy her time.

Skorm remained motionless from his current position atop the factory, although he did watch as Ember went on her way. Once again it appeared that he was smiling and a he couldn't help but chuckle darkly at the chaos Ember was so skilled at creating… Although his smile began to almost immediately fade, as his glowing red sphere like eyes reappeared and he turned his attention towards Bowerstone Castle.

_After_ _all_…

…_He had some blood to spill…_

And he was really looking forward to it… it had been so long since he had caused any 'real' chaos… killing Nobles and Balverines were fun enough to prevent him from dying of boredom, but killing a former king who had some heroic blood in him… now that really sounded _fun_. So just as eerily as he had appeared in Industrial, the air around him rippled like the water in a pond and just like that he disappeared…

…_All hell was about to break loose in Bowerstone Castle…_


	4. The Trouble Begins

**Chapter 4**

**The Trouble Begins**

"Well isn't this delightfully boring…" Ember grunted darkly. She was currently sitting cross-legged outside of 'The Riveters Rest' with a half empty bottle of Bowerstone Beer clutched in her hand. She had been wandering around Bowerstone Industrial for a little over an hour, and upon finding nothing interesting to do she had settled down for a quick drink outside of the local pub... she never did very well with boredom...

A sudden commotion caught Embers attention and she looked up from her drink… No matter how much Queen Elizabeth had improved things in Industrial, it was still a hard life for the people who lived there. Crime was still very common… and there was a lot of 'Survival of the Fittest' amongst the locals. What had captured Embers attention was that a thief armed with a knife had just robbed one of the small stands that were scattered throughout Industrial. He was now running as fast as his legs could carry him down one of the busy streets…

_Ember suddenly smiled a cruel little smile…_

The jerk was even heading straight for her! She abandoned her drink and stood up and walked over to the beginning of the stone bridge a few feet from the pub and waited. Sure enough the thief was far more concerned if anyone was following him and thus he was not paying very much attention to what was directly in front of him… When he finally did notice Ember he was only a few feet away from where she stood and judging by her stance it wasn't hard to tell that she was about to try and intercept him, and the look in her large yellow eyes was scary… Downright terrifying even... So he tried to change direction and run away from her… back the same way he came. He brandished the knife he had just robbed the stall owner with to the people behind him, hoping to clear a path and prevent anyone from trying to stop him.

Of course this is exactly what Ember had wanted to happen. The second that he turned around she produced a dagger from up her sleeve and threw it at him with deadly accuracy…

_She hit her target… _

The dagger contacted with the back of the man's ankle, successfully cleaving right through his boot and his muscle tendon… the thief screamed in agony as he hit the ground, blood pouring from his wound. Ember chuckled as she walked up to the now felled thief and she kicked his dagger out of his hand and for good measure planted her boot square in the center of his back preventing any further attempts to escape.

"I don't believe this belongs to you…" She said removing the bag of gold that he had just stolen from his grip. "You're lucky this time; I'm a in a very good mood, but if I ever catch you doing this again… the next time I'll cleave your head right off your shoulders! So then… have you learned your lesson from this then you little piece of trash?"

"Yes!" The man groaned in a mix of both fear and pain… But Ember only put more pressure on his back, digging her boot right into his spine.

"I didn't hear you!" Ember taunted, her eyes seeming to glow with maliciousness.

"I swear I'll never steal anything ever again!" The thief cried out practically sobbing now. Ember seemed content with this. And with a quick flick of her wrist, she threw the bag gold to its rightful owner who had been watching this whole thing play out; along with quite a large crowd. But it was one member of this crowd who really caught Embers attention… by being the only member of the crowd to be applauding her violent actions…

Ember raised an eyebrow at this guy… he definitely stood out, although not in a good way. To put it simply he was the most gaudily dressed man she'd ever laid eyes on, and he wore the biggest top hat she had ever seen as well...

…_Reaver…_

Now Ember knew that her ways of handling lawbreakers may have been a little questionable… even if her true intent was really only meant to do good; and she was used to people being scared and horrified due to her violent actions, but never had someone openly applauded her before.

"Oh bravo, my dear!" Reaver applauded as he observed the rather interesting woman before him. "I must say, that was a very entertaining little show you put on." He cooed; his voice was as smooth as liquid velvet. All around him the people of Industrial retreated backwards, making sure to give him plenty of room. No one wanted to be too close to the Deviant tycoon, should he randomly decide he wanted to shoot somebody. Ember however just looked at him strangely as she stood up and removed her dagger from the young thief's leg and sheathed it in one of the pockets in her coat.

"Now then, just who exactly are you? I believe I would recall seeing a face as beautiful as yours." Reaver purred seductively, but much to his surprise he found no answer as Ember began to try and walk right past him… Now Reaver was not used to being ignored, nor did he like it… So as Ember was attempting to pass him he put his cane up and blocked her path. This earned him an irritated glare from the strange young woman.

"What's the rush?" Reaver questioned with a slight chuckle in his voice. Oh how long had it been since he actually had to _work_ to get a young woman's attention? Quite some time indeed… Although he didn't count the instances with Queen Elizabeth, that was more '_play,'_ then anything else and he did it just to get under the young Queens skin. The same could be said for Page, although his run-ins with her were far less frequent. Oh yes, Reaver did just love getting under people's skin. Although should either of them ever give in, he would not hesitate to bed them… But that was not the case at this moment; right now what he wanted was for this strange beauty to be reduced to nothing but putty in his hands. So within a second Reaver had captured Embers hand and pulled her close to him… shame how he failed to notice that Ember's expression was darkening with each passing second.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Ember and she smiled an evil little smile, and she got closer to Reaver on her own accord, practically pressing her body up against his. To Reaver that cheeky grin plastered on her face was a sure sign of her falling under his spell. But before Reaver could even say another word, let alone invite her back to his mansion for a vigorous round of sex… Ember fastened her grip on his cane and looped one of her legs behind his and pushed him as hard as she could…

…_And Reaver found himself going for a little dip in the river…_

Now Reaver was the Hero of Skill, and his skill had only grown stronger over his immense life… but even he had moments where he let his guard down; and this happened to be one of those times. She'd rammed him so fast that he didn't even have a chance to react let alone draw his Dragonstomper.48. In fact he just blinked several times underwater, absolutely dumbstruck…

_"How rude…"_

Ember apparently failed to see the severity of what she had just done; and judging by her contented smile and the fact that she still had Reavers cane clasped tightly in her hand, she also didn't have a clue who he was.

"Someone needed to cool off that asshole…" Ember chuckled to herself as she looked over his cane… apparently deciding whether or not she was going to keep it… she twirled it once in her hand before tapping it twice on the ground, apparently quite content with it. Also she noted that for some very odd reason, everyone in Industrial seemed to be running away from her…

"Huh… what the hell is all that about… Still… I should probably start heading over to the castle. Hmmm, I wonder how much carnage Skormy has caused by now." Ember pondered cheerfully to herself as she began walking down the street that led away from this dreary smog covered city.

**(Meanwhile at Bowerstone Castle…) **

"What do you think it was?" Logan asked Elizabeth who sat heavily in one of her luxurious chairs near the castles fireplace with her face in her hands.

"I don't know… Hell I don't even know if I really saw something." Elizabeth replied darkly, her voice shaking slightly as she recalled what happened just outside of, Kaya and Embers mansion. She was grateful to no end that she did not have anything scheduled on her Royal Agenda for today, although she didn't put it past Hobson to find something else for her to do a moment's notice… But for now she just sat quietly in her sitting room with her brother nearby.

It was much to Elizabeth's dismay that she found Logan was not going to be taking it as easy as he should. She wanted him to be on bed rest… But he had gloomily pointed out that it would make no difference if he took it easy, he was still going to die… And he had said that he would rather die active, over slowly withering away in a bed. He wore his usual clothes even his silver chest plate, although it appeared that his clothes fit much more loosely than Elizabeth remembered… He had lost a great deal of weight, and looked even more tired than he ever had before. Elizabeth had to force herself not think about it, lest she find herself starting to cry again.

"Perhaps the locals of SilverPines aren't just seeing things. Maybe there really are some kinds of monsters in the forest." Logan pondered… Just as the sound of someone yelling reached their ears, one voice was clearly Hobson's; the other was a little harder to make out… Since this voice was doing most of the yelling. Then it abruptly became silent. At this Hobson suddenly entered the room his hand covering his very bloody nose.

"Excuse me your Majesty but there is a young woman out there who claims that you have asked her to come to the castle… When I told her that this could not be as surely your Highness would not deal with someone who appeared to be such a common peasant, the ruffian punched me! And demanded that I tell you she was here… She said her name was Kaya I believe." Hobson growled all the while more blood was coming out of his nose like a waterfall. Logan and Elizabeth both looked utterly shocked…

"Kaya? She's here already?" Logan breathed in his voice barely higher than a whisper.

"But that's impossible… Even if she left right after I spoke with her, it would take a good day or two to reach the Castle from SilverPines! The only reason I can do it so quickly is because of my Guild Seal…" Elizabeth commented a look of disbelief written across her face.

"I assure you Madame she is very much here." Hobson said darkly, he had a somewhat evil attitude towards peasants and the lower class, Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder how he'd react to know that Kaya was of noble birth.

"Go take care of yourself Hobson." Elizabeth said as she stood up from her current position in the chair. She looked worriedly at her brother because she was pretty sure that if it was possible, he had gotten even paler and he seemed to be lost in thought. "Are you okay Logan?" She asked softly this snapped him back to reality almost immediately.

"I'm fine." Logan answered quickly. "Lizzie… I'd like to talk to Kaya in private. So could you-"

"I'll make sure no one bothers you. Isn't that right Hobson?" Elizabeth growled towards Hobson who blinked once in surprise before composing himself, successfully getting more of the blood from his nose all over his uniform.

"I will make sure the staff does not intrude on your brother and his… young friend." Hobson said with false sincerity. While there was little doubt he would do what he was told, he did loathe the former king. Not because Logan had done anything that had personally affected him, but because he had the Queen's ear; and a blind man would be able to see that Elizabeth would much more likely take Logan's advice over his. Hobson did not like anyone who threatened his position as the Queen's advisor… That included her brother. "Your young lady friend is in the library." He said to Logan, all the time glaring daggers into the sickly man. "Or at least that's the way she started skulking off after she punched me..." Logan merely nodded and went that way himself… His heart was racing faster than that of a Jackrabbit.

Sure enough, Kaya was in the library. She stood in the center of the room looking out one of the grand windows that overlook the castles garden. Her amethyst eyes were blazing darkly, ripe with emotion that could not be read…

The blood froze in Logan's veins as he looked upon his former lover… She had not changed at all; she was still as beautiful as he remembered her to be. He stood there in silence for a moment, just staring at her. Remembering how times used to be… However Kaya sensed someone else's presence in the room and turned to see who it was…

_The blood in her veins froze too…_

Immediately the magenta fire seemed to disappear from her eyes. Her emotions began to go reel around so fast, that she wasn't even sure what she was feeling... Although she was able to decipher one particular emotion _**very**_ clearly.

"Well if it isn't his former Majesty, King Logan…" She growled just as it seemed that the fire behind her eyes reignited. Only if was filled with so much anger and hatred that Logan couldn't even begin to fathom it. But he could feel it radiating off of her like heat from a candle… and it burned.

"Hello Kaya…" Logan said softly.

"Don't you '_Hello Kaya'_ me Logan… It's taking all of my self-control not to break your neck right now!" Kaya snapped dangerously moving so that she now stood before him… In spite of the fact that she was a good 4 inches shorter than Logan, the rage that was building behind her eyes could have easily scared off a man double Logan's size.

"Kaya I know you're mad, and I know you're upset… But I beg of you to please let me try to explain myself!" Logan pleaded barely managing to keep his voice from cracking. Just like Kaya he too was caught in an emotional tornado; only his emotions were sorrow and remorse. This was the woman he had loved with all his heart, she was filled with so much anger that **he** had caused with his foolishness and his tyranny… she had every right to blame him, and he blamed himself just as much.

"Oh, I'm well beyond '_**mad**__'_ I used to get '_**mad**__' _if someone talked down to me, I used to get '_**mad**__' _if somebody played a nasty prank on me… No… I am so far beyond '_**mad **__'_that there isn't even a word to describe how I'm feeling right now!" Kaya roared with such ferocity that all of the Castle staff who had gathered just outside of the door to eavesdrop on this conversation took off running in fear! Logan's expression however only grew sadder. His eyes became glassy as he saw the hatred burning so brightly inside of Kaya's heart. The knowing that he had put it there made him feel weaker than he already was… His stomach churned painfully, and he felt another coughing fit coming around; but he fought it. He could not show her how sick he was… He did not want her pity, nor did he deserve it.

"Kaya… Please… Just hear me out. I know that nothing I could say would ever justify what I did to you. But I need you to know why… To understand why I did what I did." Logan said pleadingly as he took a cautious step towards Kaya who responded by taking two steps backwards.

Silence filled the room. An eerie and unsettling silence that seemed to make the air turn cold. Kaya glared at Logan, her eyes still filled with unrelenting, burning hatred. Her rage seemed to consume her… But as Logan waited for his response, Kaya felt something inside of her break or release itself… Another emotion that was just as strong as her anger; maybe even stronger…

… _Her pain…_

Kaya had loved Logan just as much as he had loved her… They had been the best of friends and eventually lovers. Anger had not been the first thing she had felt when he had broken off their engagement and commanded her to leave; it was hurt. Hurt and pain that had dragged her down into an abyss of pure sorrow so great that she almost couldn't climb her way out of it. Kaya could not deny her sorrow… She could not deny the pain; the pain of not knowing what it was that had really happened to cause her best friend to turn on her.

_She had to know…_

The raging fire behind her eyes finally calmed down, although they still were aglow with wariness as she took in a long calming breath. She sighed, and looked Logan dead in his eyes.

"Fine… Tell me. Tell me what really happened all those years ago. Tell me… Why?" Kayas voice was barely louder than a whisper, and her eyes lost their fire… And instead they became like glass jewels as tears began to well inside of them. But they did not fall… Logan took a deep breath, a little relieved that Kaya would at least hear him out.

"All right… It all started… When I went on the expedition to Aurora." Logan began, and he proceeded to tell Kaya of what had happened in that distant land, and of the horror that he had faced that was The Crawler…

… _All the while he was unaware, that he was being watched by something else…_

**(Just outside…)**

Skorm glared daggers at Logan from his current position in the garden just outside of the Castle; and he was not seeing what he wanted to see… He wanted to see Kaya killing Logan, not him talking to her in such a calm pleading manner; trying so hard to explain himself… He dreaded the thought that Kaya might find it in her heart to forgive him; or worse yet they might even try to reconcile their relationship! No… he remembered the pain that the poor girl had endured and it was greater than any torture he could think of. He had to stop this, for Kaya's own good.

Something behind him drew his attention temporarily away from his target. It seemed that the young Queen was walking outside in the castles garden with her faithful dog. No doubt she was trying to eavesdrop a little bit on the ongoing conversation between her brother and Kaya… Skorm growled a little in annoyance, but shrugged it off. It didn't matter whether she was there or not, he was invisible right now and she couldn't see him unless he was to stop using his invisibility ability; which he had no intention of doing. He grabbed his bow and moved to a different position, scoping out an ideal area to snipe the little bastard off from a distance… and it didn't take him long to find the perfect spot; Logan was in his sights and there was nothing to obstruct his view… Nothing could go wrong now; it was time to end his miserable little life. He should've done it years ago, with or without Kaya's permission…

_Coal began barking…_

Skorm cast a glance in the direction of the Queen's miserable mutt. Indeed he was barking his head off right in Skorms' general direction. Poor Elizabeth was desperately trying to get him to quiet down, since she really didn't want to interrupt her brother. He was nervous enough as it was.

Skorm just rolled his eyes and began trying to tune out the annoying barking. He'd forgotten that animals like wolves, dogs, and Balverines were much more in tune with their other senses and could actually detect where he was even while he was invisible. Not that it mattered much… what could a stupid dog do? He pulled the bowstring back and an arrow magically appeared; although it was hidden under his power of invisibility and could not be seen, Skorms arrows were of a very specific design… the arrows were very large and pitch black in color, and almost seemed to be crafted from shadows themselves. But right when Skorm was about to release the arrow for what would certainly be a kill shot-

_Coal Attacked…_

The dog ran and leapt upon Skorm, surprising him so much that he lost his target and released the arrow… Only now his aim was off in the arrow soared through the window! It was way too high, and it lodged itself in the wall a good 8 feet off the ground. Now the broken window and the arrow had successfully alerted Logan and Kaya that something was going on outside.

_When Kaya saw the arrow, her heart nearly stopped._

"No, no nonononono!" Kaya hissed as she recognized that arrow, as Skorms arrows were no doubt extremely unique… and Skorm's presence multiplied by the fact that he was shooting off arrows in their direction was most definitely _NOT_ a good thing!

"What was that?" Logan questioned looking out the window to see just what the hell was going on out there. Although his eyes widened when he actually saw what was going on.

When Coal attacked Skorm it had distracted him so that he accidentally lost his focus and became visible once again. He currently held the dog by the throat; his large red eyes were visible and narrowed at Elizabeth's trusted sidekick.

"Stupid mutt!" He snarled with a voice that chilled the air; and in a flash he threw the dog into Elizabeth knocking her over. Which wasn't all that hard to do considering she was frozen in fear when he appeared completely out of nowhere; and his shape perfectly matched the ominous silhouette she had seen just the previous night. Coal whimpered in fear and in a bit of pain, but he was lucky for he was otherwise not hurt at all.

Unfortunately, now that he was visible Skorm realized there was no more need for subtlety. And he could see clear as day Logan's horrified look as he watched him from behind the window. He could hear Elizabeth pushing her dog off and starting to draw her blade, but this didn't bother him… Instead he tore off at an extremely fast speed towards the castle. He moved so quickly that it was hard to follow him; he was definitely faster than one would expect a creature of his size could be. He passed Logan's statue and ignored the stairs that would have led him closer to the castle, instead he jumped on all fours onto the railing. Where he crouched down like a cat that was about to spring… Kaya knew what was about to happen so as quick as she could, she grabbed Logan's cape and pulled him away from the window just as Skorm sprang upwards... He easily made it up to the second story window, which he broke through without any trouble at all…

_This put him right in the same room with his target._


	5. Second Skin

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Second Skin**_

"Skorm! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kaya roared angrily; her amethyst eyes burning with an unspeakable rage... But upon hearing Kaya shout out this hideous creature's name, Logan's eyes widened with disbelief.

"S-Skorm? One of the ancient gods?" He questioned horrified; and although he did not know why… he was feeling more fear and more dread than the first time he had looked upon the Crawler's hideous face…

"The same!" Skorm sneered cruelly as his mask almost seemed to smile and his red eyes blazed with malicious intent.

"You're no god Skorm!" Kaya snarled as she stood protectively in front of Logan… Not that it did much good; Skorm towered over both Kaya and Logan by several feet and could reach him one way or another… which is exactly what happened… as quick as a flash Skorm reached his clawed hand out and grabbed Logan's forearm and effortlessly lifted him off the ground, causing the former King to cry out in a mix of both pain and surprise… because the arm that Skorm had grabbed was the arm that Elizabeth's guards had broken mere days ago… the brace was concealed under his sleeve and with his clothes hanging so loosely around his boney frame it was easy to pull his sleeve over the brace.

"I should have done this years ago… It would've spared all of Albion from years of torment." Skorm growled as he brought Logan up to his eye level… His bloody, hellish, eyes boring into Logan like red-hot knives.

All of a sudden Skorm howled in pain and dropped Logan abruptly. Right behind him Elizabeth stood with her arm outstretched, small wisps of flames still danced around her fingers as she had clearly just hurled a fireball at Skorm's back. Although while it appeared to have hurt him there for a second, there were no scorch marks on either his armor or cape…

…_it was then that Skorm started laughing…_

"You call that an attack?" His demonic voice boomed so loudly that the whole castle seemed to tremble. "Let me show you an attack!" At this Skorm extended his arm and a ball of black fire ignited in his hand! Although the flames gave off a feel so menacing that they could have been belched straight out of the deepest circle of hell… and this said fireball began growing steadily larger with each passing second… in a flash he threw this ball of hellish flames straight at Elizabeth! She barely managed to get out of the way in time, but it was a good thing she did… for the part of the wall at this fireball contacted practically melted away from the sheer heat and it left a perfectly circular hole in the wall just behind the young Queen… it was all too obvious that if those flames had actually touched her, she would be dead.

"That was a very bad move Lizzie!" Kaya growled at Elizabeth, never taking her eyes off of Skorm. "Whatever you do, do not give him a reason to attack you!"

"I'll deal with her later…" Skorm snarled once again drawing his attention back to Kaya and Logan… "Kaya get out of my way!"

"No! Stop this now Skorm!" Kaya snapped, her anger seething in her voice while her amethyst eyes blazing with her rage. "I command you… to stop this!"

As soon as Kaya had said this it made Skorm recoil a bit; almost as though this would've had some sort of effect on him… But whatever effect it was supposed to have, quickly wore off as he corrected himself and within and instant his eyes re-ignited from within his mask.

"You what?" Skorm howled wrathfully, and Kaya gulped… This apparently didn't have the reaction she was hoping for. "Fine then, if you won't get out of my way I'll just have to go _**through**_ you!

"What now?" Logan questioned Kaya as he tried to hide the agony he was clearly in…

"Run like hell…" was Kaya's only answer.

_Skorm charged…_

But not before Elizabeth jumped up onto his back and stabbed her sword through his armor and deep into his shoulder blade. Now this _**really **_pissed Skorm off and he snarled in both pain and rage. He grabbed Elizabeth by her long brown hair and threw her against a wall; successfully knocking her out cold. Growling he reached behind him and pulled her sword out of his shoulder… in the process revealing that his blood was as black as the fire he created. But Elizabeth's actions were not in vain; they had bought Kaya a few precious seconds to haul Logan to his feet and for the two of them to bolt out of the room as fast as they possibly could.

"Ka-Kaya… what-who is that thing?" Logan struggled to say as he and Kaya were running hell bent through the castles winding corridors. But in his condition the strain on his muscles was taking its toll on him. His heart was beating erratically, his lungs burned, and his stomach was doing somersaults… and unbeknownst to him, he was bleeding profusely out of his nose…

"A very long story Logan, but now isn't exactly the best time to be asking about that!" Kaya hissed halting her mad running to grab Logan by his uninjured arm and pull him in a desperate attempt to hurry him up. Why was he so slow now? She remembered how she used to have trouble keeping up with him half the time; had he gotten so much slower over the years they had been separated? And why did he have a nosebleed? She knew he hadn't hit his face when Skorm had dropped him… whatever was wrong with Logan would have to wait as the much more immediate threat to his life was barreling down the hallway directly behind them… not caring at all if some unfortunate servants were unlucky enough to get in his way, he'd just plow through them! His sharp, demonic armor and his armored talons would rip apart anything in his path… so as he was tearing after Logan and Kaya, he was also leaving a trail of bodies in his wake… the unfortunate souls were either dead or wailing in terrible agony; their bodies shredded by the nine foot tall engine of destruction currently tearing through Bowerstone Castle.

As fast as she could, Kaya burst through the Throne Room doors still maintaining her death grip on Logan's good arm, and in a single swift movement she slammed the doors closed and jammed the lock thus preventing the doors from opening.

"That won't hold him for long…" Kaya muttered trying desperately to reclaim her lost breath. Her heart was beating faster than a Jackrabbits. Damn Skorm; could this day possibly get any worse?

…_she jinxed herself…_

Kaya heard Logan groan weakly only to turn around just in time to see him collapse onto the stairs in front of the throne.

"Logan!" Kaya cried out and immediately rushed to his side. But she didn't understand what was wrong with him. He clearly had a broken arm but that was obviously not causing his nose to bleed or him to collapse like this. "Logan what's wrong?! Logan?!" Kaya had never felt so helpless in all of her life! Just what the hell was going on? Logan couldn't even speak but seemed to be struggling just to remain conscious… and a small cascading waterfall of blood had begun to seep out of the side of his mouth which only added to both Kayas confusion and horror.

A sudden loud crashing sound brought Kaya back to the much bigger problem that was now just outside of the Throne room door... And within a split second a loud explosion resounded throughout the entire castle… Skorm now stood in the doorway, his red eyes blazing with hellfire… at that precise moment he could have passed as the devil himself.

"Skorm …stop this!" Kaya yelled… although her voice had begun to crack… she was more pleading with him than commanding him. However it was all too apparent that Skorm had no intention of listening to the frantic young woman. With a simple wave of his clawed hand there was a rush of wind so powerful that it completely blew Kaya off of her feet and into a nearby wall but while it stunned her it didn't actually injure her, the wind was clearly a very restrained Vortex spell on Skorm's part.

Skorm couldn't help but sneer a little bit as he looked down on the crumpled mass that was Logan, although the curious thoughts of just what was happening to the former King briefly flashed through his brain he immediately dismissed them… he wanted to enjoy this…

The goliath creature clenched his fist and instantaneously the black flames that heeded his call erupted around his fist; growing steadily hotter and hotter by the second until the flames reached a level of near unimaginable heat. It was easily ten times hotter than the fireball he had launched at Queen Elizabeth… he then looked down at Logan's helpless form, trying in vain to crawl away but his weakened body would no longer co-operate.

…_but the death blow never landed…_

All of a sudden the great stained glass window behind the throne exploded and a blast of blue lightning erupted out of seemingly nowhere! And the blast was so powerful it blew Skorm clean into a wall! Causing his hellish flames to dissipate at once… Kaya blinked a few times in surprise but then out a small sigh of relief; it was as though her prayers had been answered.

_Avo had arrived…_

"Skorm what the hell are you doing?" Avo snapped angrily at the glaring Skorm… no doubt Avo's superior hearing had picked up on the terrible commotion that was taking place within the castle; since Kaya was inside he had no doubt come to make sure she was alright… and it was a good thing he did.

"Something I should have done a long time ago! Something you're too weak to do!" Skorm roared angrily back at Avo.

"I'm not too weak Skorm… but this is not our place-" Avo never got to finish what he was saying as at that point Skorm created another black fireball and launched it straight at Avo who barely had enough time to shield himself with his wings… the fireball contacted him head on, but in spite of the incredible force and heat of Skorm's fire, it didn't seem to injure Avo very much at all.

"If that's the way you want to play;" Avo hissed, his voice seeming to darken and begin to sound… evil… "Then so be it!" At that Avo rushed at Skorm, drawing his twin long swords. But Skorm countered faster than the eye could see, and he blocked the two blades with his bow. Causing a shower of golden sparks to erupt from where the weapons had made contact. Avo jumped back and swung one of his swords forward again only to be countered by Skorm blocking him with his bow once more; only this time he brought his second blade up and stabbed it deep into Skorms abdomen. This caused the dark creature to howl in pain as more of his black blood oozed out of this wound.

However now it seemed that Skorms' priorities had dramatically changed. He seemed far less concerned with killing Logan and was now completely focused on fighting Avo. Kaya saw this and aside from thanking whatever god there was for Skorms' bad temper and short attention span; she pulled Logan out of the way of the warring titans and against the wall where she began to look him over, trying to figure out where he had gotten injured. But when she could find no injuries that would cause the profuse bleeding…

_When in doubt…_

Kaya reached into her pocket and pulled out a small health potion; she always carried one or two on her at all times. She quickly pulled its cork out and poured the red liquid into Logan's mouth. After a moment or two he swallowed painfully… and after a second Logan's eyes opened back up, his pain apparently ebbing for the time being. But he knew that health potions were only capable of healing wounds, like cuts or stabs, or in his case internal tears due to his illness. It didn't help at all with his disease, just helped his more immediate problem… he was still dying, but at least he was conscious now. But before he could say anything to Kaya, a terrific blast of black fire filled the entire room with shadows… and Avo was blown backwards; clear out through what was once the stained glass window he had originally entered through!

Having abandoned Logan as his target altogether Skorm tore off after Avo, who had been blown all the way down into the gardens below and he was apparently trying to reclaim his lost sense of balance… Skorm now stood on the stone railing looking down at Avo and he wasted no time; he created another arrow and took aim at his rival… then he let that arrow fly! But the second that he released that arrow it seemed to divide into at least seven others; and each one pierced deep into Avo's body before he had time to react. Three arrows sunk deep into his back, two went through his left arm, a third pierced through his wing membrane, and the final one embedded itself in his neck causing a fountain of crimson blood to flow out from his wounds. Avo howled in pain as Skorm took aim again, preparing to fire another round of arrows at his downed foe.

_Kaya had enough…_

As fast as she could she stood and ran at Skorm from the behind; but before she reached him she brought her arms back and with all of her might.

…_and she loosed a terrific bolt of blue lightning at Skorm…_

It did the trick, Skorm was flung foreward from the force and he landed hard on the ground a few meters away from Avo who was now taking the opportunity to tear the arrows out of his body… Skorm hissed in pain as he felt that the electricity from Kayas attack had actually dealt quite a bit of damage… this was just not his day… However… the second that Kaya had unleashed a Shock spell; Logan's jaw had dropped and he stared in absolute awe. But he was not alone in his shock; Elizabeth had regained consciousness and had followed the trail of blood and bodies to the Throne Room where she had just witnessed Kaya using a Will ability… and without gauntlets at that!

"Kaya? You're- you're a-?" Elizabeth began.

"A hero? Yeah… you could say that. Both Ember and I have Heroic blood. Although unlike you Lizzie we each only have two virtues… Ember primarily has the virtue of Strength, but she can control Will up to a point. And me… I've got the virtue of Will, but I'm pretty good with a gun as well." Kaya explained casting a glance back at Elizabeth and Logan. But her attention was immediately drawn back to the problem at hand when Skorm let loosed a howl of agony as he tried to stand, but his body was so injured that he fell down onto one knee. Kaya jumped off the top of the stairway and after a second was followed by Elizabeth who looked over at Avo and prepared to draw her blade but she was stopped by Kaya.

"He's on our side Lizzie, it's Skorm who's gone mad." Kaya said glaring at Skorm… who proceeded to glare right back with his glowing bright red eyes.

"Damn it Kaya… you're making a mistake listening to that little bastard." Skorm snarled wrathfully at Kaya.

"That is none of your business Skorm, damn it you have no right to try and influence what goes on in my life!" Kaya snapped, as a spark of electricity began to crackle around her hands as her rage really began to manifest… But all of a sudden, Skorm suddenly started laughing a dark, cold, cruel laugh. And his eyes began too; if it was possible, glow even brighter!

"Poor innocent child, you are going to give your heart away far too easily… just like your mother…" At the mention of her mother, Kaya visibly paled… like Skorm's words had pierced her deeper than one of his arrows. "Though rest assured, I will not let you suffer that same fate… by any means necessary!"

At that Skorm outstretched his hand and some sort of black shadowy liquid began to pour out. Elizabeth's heart nearly stopped. That black liquid… she had seen it once before… in fact all of Albion had! That shadowy goo was the same as what was created by the Crawler and its demonic spawn. It looked like it could have been the same damn substance!

The black sludge began to pool around Skorms' body and it began to emit smoke and bubble as though it was fiery hot. Skorms own body also began to emit smoke; Kayas eyes went wide and fear immediately began to flood her face.

"No, nonononono Skorm don't you dare!" Kaya roared as she and Elizabeth listened as a loud cracking noise split the air like a gunshot and a jagged line suddenly appeared across Skorms mask where the stitching was. And within in a second the jagged line parted revealing that it now opened to be a large gaping mouth; and he loosed an earsplitting roar so loud it could be heard for miles.

Before Elizabeth or Kaya could react, they found themselves being grabbed by Avo and dragged back away from Skorm; until they were behind Queen Sparrow's grave monument.

"Well it's safe to say that he hasn't been _**this**_ mad for several centuries." Avo hissed irritably; poor Elizabeth was far more confused than anyone. And she was more afraid… How could this being; Skorm have powers so similar to the Crawlers? She peeked out from behind the monument only to see that Skorms entire body was now enveloped in this shadow liquid… And it could have very well been her eyes deceiving her, but she would swear that his form seems to be getting larger.

"What's he doing?!" Elizabeth frantically asked Kaya who was rubbing her head as a splitting headache racked her brain.

"He's dawning his second skin your Majesty." Avo answered flatly. But upon seeing the confused look on Elizabeth's face he realized he needed to elaborate more. "You see your Highness, we are not human… Far from it actually… We are from a place called 'the Void' which exists on the other side of your world. Like two parts to the same coin… Perhaps you'd be more familiar with a far more well-known individual from our world… The Jack of Blades?" Elizabeth eyes widened with fear.

"You mean he's the Jack of Blades?" She whispered horrified. But Avo's ears just drooped a little and he shook his head no.

"No dear child, he's not the Jack… But we are the same species. With somewhat similar abilities… One in particular, which all creatures of the Void can use. An ability called 'Second Skin.' It's not shape shifting, that's a talent that very few creatures can do… But it's a bit more… beast-like you can call it."

"What is… Second Skin?" Elizabeth asked just as a colossal shadow fell over Sparrow's grave. Elizabeth looked up-

… _And nearly died of fright…_

A colossal Black Dragon now loomed intimidatingly over the grave monument. Its eyes were as red as blood, and a pair of rams horns twisted around its head. It had claws that looked far sharper than any sword. Its scales were as black as a moonless night, and the scales on his underbelly were a dark gray. The Dragon itself had to stand 25 to 30 feet tall, and must've been at least 20 feet long…. And its ivory white teeth were bared in a demonic Cheshire grin.

"I think it's pretty self-explanatory at this point... To think, if the Jack had been at full power when he fought with the hero all those centuries ago, he would have won." Avo said simply in spite of the look of sheer terror on Elizabeth's face. "But do consider yourself privileged your Majesty. The last time that Skorm and I really went to war like this… was almost 600 years ago."

At that Avo spread his wings and took to the air… and suddenly his form became shrouded within the clouds... Lightning began to dance around the cloud that he had hidden himself in… Skorm looked up and snarled at the sight of this. He spread his massive wings but before he could take flight… A giant ball of lightning erupted from the cloud and crashed into him; knocking him over in earsplitting roar of pain. Erupting from this cloud another form appeared. But this form was not a Dragon, instead-

…_it was a wyvern…_

And a white wyvern at that, clearly Avo was albino. Avo's scales were as white as freshly fallen snow, with little to no distinction between his underbelly scales and his regular ones. He was every bit just as intimidating as his counterpart. Although he was not quite as big; as he must've stood about 20 feet tall in comparison to Skorm being nearly 30 feet tall. And his eyes; they were just as creamy white as the rest of him. He hovered in midair, looking down at his demonic counterpart. Once Skorm had recovered from the initial blast he righted himself and set his sights on Avo… Apparently forgetting all about Logan again. He roared in rage and spread his wings; in a single swift movement he took off loosing a blast of his black fire at the same time. Avo dodged this blast and the two of them began an aerial duel high above the castle… Logan staggered outside his eyes now locked on the two monstrous beasts, just what the hell was going on? What were they? He could only guess…

"When this is over Elizabeth…" Kaya mumbled. "We need to have a long talk; the same talk that my great-grandfather had with your mother… About these two… And although I dread to say it; it was that conversation… that scared your mother to her death." Elizabeth stared at Kaya her jaw slightly open and her eyes wide with shock.

…_Just what the hell was going on?_

_**(Elsewhere, inside the Castle)**_

Ember had always had somewhat of a strong aversion to using the front door to other people's homes… Unless of course she absolutely had too. And since she technically didn't need to use said front door right now she didn't. So Ember had found a different way to enter the castle, by means of one of the windows that led to the castles treasury. She was so thin and lithe that slipping through such a window was not a hard task for her.

"I would've thought Lizzie would have kept a better guard around the treasury... Guess I was wrong." She muttered to herself as she stood atop one of the vast piles of gold that filled the room. But much to her surprise, she found she wasn't the only one in the treasury right now.

Hobbson loved gold… and he was a very greedy individual, so since the young queen and her tyrant of a brother were busy he saw a golden opportunity to help himself to a little of the treasurys gold. Not much or else the Queen would get suspicious, but he'd been doing it for so long he'd built up quite a little stash at this point. He chuckled contently to himself, he was actually quite proud that he gotten away with it this long. He was so proud of himself at that particular moment that he didn't even notice Ember watching him…

…_That is until she cleared her throat, back caught his attention right fast…_

"W-What are you doing here? Who are you?" He demanded… Ember just raised an eyebrow.

"I think I should be asking that, does the Queen know that one of her servants has been dipping into the Royal Treasury?" Ember questioned flatly. Hobbson's eyes went wide with a mix of both shock and fear and he quickly dumped all the gold in his pockets back out, and glared hatefully at this stranger.

"She'll never believe you!" He snapped a cheeky smile starting to form on his face… But that smile immediately disappeared as Ember began drawing her sword. He whirled around and was about to scream for the guards-

…_when he lost his head…_

Ember watched as Hobbson's now headless body fell backwards onto the gold… blood spewing all over. With a little hop she jumped over the now pooling blood of the corrupted servant.

"Talk about blood money, I hope Elizabeth doesn't mind a little bloody money." She pondered out loud as a sudden tremor ran throughout the castle and terrific roaring resounded through its great halls. She chuckled, apparently she wasn't late…

_She didn't want to miss this party…._


	6. The Bleak Truth

**Chapter 6**

**The Bleak Truth**

_This has to be some sort of nightmare…_

That was all Elizabeth could think as she watched the black and white monsters circling each other high above Bowerstone Castle. She could hardly believe that any of this was really happening! It just seemed too unreal… She cast a nervous glance back to her brother's current position and was relieved to see he was all right... At least for now anyway. But there was no way in hell all this stress was doing him any good. And just what was Kaya talking about? Something that had scared her mother to her death… she looked over at the older girl only to see she was not paying any attention whatsoever to the two dueling Titans… Her eyes were completely transfixed on Logan. Her emotions were visibly at war with themselves…

_Elizabeth had a sudden crippling feeling that this day was going to end in disaster…_

A sudden thunderous roar drew everyone's attention back to the most pressing matter at hand. The black dragon that was Skorm had stopped circling his albino opponent and had now loosed a fiery breath of black flames at Avo who appeared to dodge effortlessly. With his first attack avoided, Skorm then proceeded to chase after Avo, the two began weaving in and out of the air, occasionally one of them would launch off an attack at the other. Either Skorm's black fire, or Avo's blue lightning would illuminate through the sky; but neither of them seemed to be succeeding in actually hitting the other.

Only after what felt like hours of neither Dragon nor Wyvern gaining the upper hand; Avo suddenly began to nosedive straight down at the ground. Naturally Skorm immediately followed after him, opening his massive jaws and preparing to clamp down on his opponent's bladed tail… But just then something completely unexpected occurred… Mere seconds before he would've crashed headlong into the ground, Avo flared his wings out and pulled out of his dive and head straight back at Skorm. Narrowly missing his opponents gaping maw, he got above his opponent and sank his claws deep into the black dragons back… his white bladed tail suddenly whipped out and slashed the membrane of Skorms wings causing the mighty black dragon to roar in both fury and pain. Avo then used all of his weight and might to force his opponent down… and Skorm found that he could not pull himself out of this dive as his torn wings could not possibly accommodate the additional force of Avo bearing down on him. And with a final mighty roar of rage, Skorm slammed face first into the ground….

_His bones could be heard shattering upon contact._

The great dragon lay motionless in the courtyard; ivory white pieces of bone could be seen protruding all over its body. Standing atop his fallen adversary Avo stood looking just as terrifying as ever. Only once he was sure that Skorm wasn't going to be getting up; did his body emit a haunting white glow and he shrank down to his usual height and hop off, resuming his position behind Kaya. His wings now wrapped tightly around his body… Elizabeth took a cautious step towards the fallen Skorm.

"Is… is he dead?" She questioned warily. At this Kaya just shook her head no.

"No… no he's not dead… he's not even hurt too badly, he's just unconscious. In about an hour he'll regenerate back to full power." Kaya said simply, her frown deepening as the look of pure horror only flooded into Elizabeth's face.

"Might I suggest that we continue this inside?" Avo commented whilst Kaya said nothing… she just walked past the startled young Queen and went back into the castle. As she passed Logan their eyes met for a moment, but Kaya looked away… almost in shame. She entered the throne room; Avo who had been directly behind her suddenly flared out his wings and flew up to the ceiling and dug his talons into it and he hung upside down… the ideal spot for him to observe everything that was going to be happening. Kaya waited for Elizabeth and Logan to both get into… well… what was left of the throne room before she even so much as spoke.

"I'm truly sorry for Skorm's actions your majesty." Kaya muttered softly to the pair of royals. "Ember is the only one who can really control him…"

"Speaking of which." Avo said just as Ember walked into the demolished throne room, she still had Reaver's cane with her and she was actually twirling it around merrily. An entertained grin was visible on her face as she approached her sister, Elizabeth, and Logan.

"Wow, Skorm really tore through here didn't he?" Ember mused in a voice that sounded as though she was purring like an overly contented Cheshire cat… Kaya glared wrathfully at her easygoing older sibling.

"Damn you Ember! What were you thinking letting Skorm do what he wants? You know what he's capable of better than anyone!" Kaya snapped, although Ember didn't seem to pay her younger sister much mind… she looked from Elizabeth to Logan... but her smile faded once her firelight eyes landed on Logan.

"Hello Ember, how have you-" Logan never got to finish his sentence as Ember suddenly punched the former king right in the face; knocking him right to the floor like a ton of bricks.

"Don't you dare talk to me bastard! I was rooting for Skorm to kill your sorry ass!" Ember hissed lethally. Her eyes suddenly seemed to come alive with a blazing ferocity.

"Ember!" Kaya roared as she immediately knelt down to help Logan up.

"That was uncalled for!" Elizabeth growled unsheathing her sword… just in case Ember should decide to demonstrate her near-legendary talent for bloodshed. But Ember just twirled the cane and looked at Elizabeth with a dark smirk.

"Oh yeah… before I forget… Lizzie you weren't too attached to that overweight servant with the '_better-than-you-are-attitude_' were you?" Ember said in a somewhat careless tone.

"Why?" Elizabeth questioned… although truth be told she was dreading the answer.

"Because he's feeling… like he's lost his head." Ember chuckled. "Also, some of the gold in the royal treasury may need a little cleaning."

"Damn you Ember!" Elizabeth snarled. "Why?"

"Because the bastard was stealing gold from your treasury; rest assured that justice was swift and… mostly painless." She chuckled before planting the cane onto the floor and leaning heavily on it.

"Really Ember, must you be so violent?" Avo commented from his place on the ceiling… Ember looked up at him and frowned.

"It's just who I am… sorry Avo… hey…wait a minute." Ember said looking from Avo, to Kaya, to Logan and Elizabeth and then back to Kaya. "They know yet?"

"Not everything Ember. I'm telling them now." Kaya said solemnly. Ember suddenly let loose a very dark, unnerving laugh.

"Oh good, I didn't want to miss their reaction!" She said malevolently; successfully managing to unnerve both Logan and Elizabeth all the more.

"What is really going on Kaya?" Elizabeth demanded… Kaya just closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled very slowly.

"You have the right to know everything your majesty…" Kaya began, and her voice was completely devoid of all emotion. "But I need to start at the beginning-"

"Feel free to chime in anytime here Avo." Ember interrupted looking back up at the bat like creature… whose entire attention was currently focused on the party below.

"Oh I will… if I need too. But in the mean time I do love to hear stories. Even one's that I've heard a million times before." Avo said with a distinctive purring sound in his voice. Kaya then began her story…

"Well… several thousand years ago, our Great Grandfather Alexander Rubyglade was a hero of Skill, but ultimately decided he'd rather live the life of a wandering trader-"

"Wait- several thousand years ago?" Elizabeth interrupted not completely believing what her ears had just heard.

"Don't interrupt Lizard… just let my sister tell the story!" Ember hissed evilly, thus silencing the young Queen… after a minute of awkward silence, Kaya continued.

"One day, while he was traveling he came across something…strange… the way he described it, it was some sort of portal within Darkwood Forest… what we know today as Wraithmarsh."

"It was more of a tear Kaya… not a portal." Avo corrected… "It was a tear between the dimensions… and they only occur very rarely." of course at this Kaya growled and looked upward at Avo, a peeved look clearly on her face.

"Do you want to tell the story?" Kaya snapped getting a little tired of people constantly interrupting her. Avo's ears visibly twitched but he remained silent… thus enabling Kaya to continue with her tale.

"Well when he came across this… tear… naturally he was a little confused and alarmed; but those feelings only increased when what looked like a pair of young children came through this hole just as it closed… those children were Skorm and Avo." Kaya stopped and once again looked up at Avo once more. "How old were you two back then?"

"I think Skorm said he was four months old, I know I was about two months…" Avo commented. But figured he had better elaborate when he sensed confusion coming from both Logan and Elizabeth. "Our species age much more rapidly than humans. Mere hours after our birth we are capable of surviving on our own… a four month old from the Void is roughly the size of a four year old human, although at two months I was quite a bit smaller than Skorm was."

"What about your parents… from the Void?" Logan inquired in a low voice… trying to hide the fact he was suddenly feeling really quite dizzy and weak.

"People from the Void are very different from you humans. Females don't care for their offspring; immediately after you are born you're on your own… although understand, the Void is also nothing like this world. There is no sun, no light… It is a world of infinite darkness… and it goes on forever. And scattered throughout it, are millions of large floating islands; usually each island is home to only about one individual… depending on how big the said island is… You see our kind are… vicious… at best. We don't need to eat or drink in order to survive. In fact we are immortal; unless of course we are actually slain in combat… and we're also very territorial; although when we're young we sometimes join into small groups or pairs. As it increases your chance for survival; at least for a little while anyway. Once you get older, you almost always will fight till the death with your… former companions. Skorm and I are not related, we just simply became allies when we were young."

"Anyway…" Kaya continued on. "Alexander found those two… and he took them both in and proceeded to raise them as his own children."

"We were… hehe, quite a handful at first…" Avo muttered softly, but he then became quiet once more and allowed Kaya to continue.

"Yes… Great Grandfather Alexander always said you two were a pair of troublemakers. But over time, both Skorm and Avo became tame towards Alexander, eventually they even began viewing him as their father… and in about four years they both were the size of teenagers. And even in spite of their '_humanized'_ attitudes; they began to become increasingly more violent with each other… Since as Avo has mentioned, their kind are territorial and with those two living in such close proximity to each other; Avo and Skorm would try to kill each other on a daily basis. Pretty soon it got so bad that Alexander had no other choice left than to separate them. At great expense to himself, he had two grand buildings constructed at two locations far away from each other… two buildings that ultimately became the Chapel of Skorm and the Temple of Avo. "

"Ah now _those_ were the days!" Avo exclaimed spreading his wings as wide as he could, exposing his shimmering pale armor to the humans just below him. "Being worshiped and deified as a god…" At this Avo emitted a bizarre purring sound.

"Yes… It wasn't long after that that people began to worship the two. As they aren't human and their strength truly _is_ godlike and their powers can have either positive or negative effects people... Shortly after that the tribute started rolling in too… the worshipers of Avo would offer _TONS_ of gold and priceless jewels to him… and Skorm's err… victims… possessions were often offered to him as well. Neither of them had any real use for the money or goods; so they just gave it to Alexander… which ultimately made him rich beyond his wildest dreams."

"That's how your family came by your nobility isn't it?" Elizabeth questioned, Kaya nodded.

"Even way back when, money always seemed to make the world go round eh?" Ember joked darkly, swinging that cane around haphazardly.

"It also gave Skorm and Avo outlets for the aggressive side of their natures as well. As Alexander may have forbid them from killing each other, they could now pit their followers against each other to see whose side was stronger… a bit of a sick game they began to enjoy; along with the occasional duel between them... And for a time, everything was working out. Alexander was even able to settle down with his true love during this time… which led to a rather unexpected discovery; while Avo and Skorm were obedient and loving towards Alexander, that love **DID NOT** extend to his wife. She was more-"

"Tolerated." Avo interrupted. "We tolerated her because she made Alexander so very happy and his happiness was one of the most important things to Skorm and I… perhaps even… the most important."

"Anyway…" Kaya resumed once more. "A few… other interesting things began to be revealed around that time; raising Skorm and Avo had actually had an effect on Alexander, while their powers were maturing they actually rubbed off a bit on him, increasing his heroic powers and causing his eyes to change colors… he said that he used to have brown eyes, but after the years of caring for those two his eyes somehow became as red as fire and blood. And when his son, our Grandfather was born his eyes were a mix of electric blue and lightning gold."

"Yes… Grandpa Alfred." Ember commented. "He was a Hero of Strength if I'm not mistaken… but neither Kaya nor I actually met him. He was killed long before our time."

"And on that note, things eventually started to crumble… when the Hero's Guild fell, so did the Temple of Avo and the Chapel of Skorm. This successfully pissed both of them off; but before either of them could retaliate on the people, Alexander stopped them. He told them that what was done was done and that killing in anger would not necessarily restore their former status as gods… and he also pointed out that if they were to cause mass carnage it would make him very unhappy."

"That was what really prevented us from wreaking a hell on Albion." Avo muttered dryly.

"But… if you two are as territorial as you say, how come you're not-?" Elizabeth questioned, but found herself unable to form the words she needed to phrase the rest of her question… luckily Avo could easily determine what the girl was trying to ask.

"How come we're not trying to kill each other now?" Avo finished her question. "After about two or threemillennia of being rivals, and living here in Albion being worshipped as gods; it appears that we seem to have been… influenced… by this world. We've gained emotions and intelligence we would not normally have if we had remained in the Void. And most importantly; we're a part of Alexander's family. Without that we'd have been just like the Jack of Blades… out to claim territory, and destroy anything that gets in our way…"

"…Alexander built a great mansion for himself and his family in the small town where he was born, and for many years both Avo and Skorm resided with him and his family in that home. Revealing also that while Skorm and Avo wouldn't respect or love Alexander's wife… they would in fact grow to love his bloodline descendants. Alfred in fact formed a bond with Skorm and could control him up to a point… much like I can control Avo and Ember can control Skorm."

"That's why Skorm reacted so strangely when you tried to command him. Like he almost would obey you but ultimately chose not to…" Logan muttered as he began to lean against a nearby wall… trying to steady himself as his dizzy spell finally began to fade a bit. Kaya nodded.

"Alexander was the only one of our bloodline who could control both Avo and Skorm completely. Maybe if either Ember or myself live long enough, we _might_ be able to control them both. But back to the story… well, after about 100 or so years another tragedy struck. The village locals became fearful of Alexander, they feared he consorted with demons and they proceeded to try and lynch him and his family… in the midst of the struggle… our Great Grandmother, Victoria, was slain… Alexander and Alfred escaped on the backs of Skorm and Avo, forever exiled from their former home… Alexander was devastated at the loss of his wife, and Skorm swore revenge on that village for the sorrow it brought on Alexander… he did eventually get that revenge, but I don't really need to get into that now… so instead he just had the home that Ember and I currently live in built… and our family has lived there in recluse ever since."

"That's a pretty interesting story Kaya… but… you said something about something that scared our Mother -"

_A gunshot suddenly resounded throughout the room…_

Faster than the eye could blink, it appeared that Ember had bent over backwards; a bullet was lodged in the wall right where her head had just been. And standing in the rooms demolished entranceway was none other than Reaver, who in fact appeared to be soaking wet… and very irritated.

"Reaver!" Elizabeth snapped. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Reavers cold, icy, glare never left Ember. Who not only took notice of his presence, she also seemed to hold out his cane in a taunting manner; almost daring him to try and take it from her.

"I'll be with you in a minute your Majesty, I just have to deal with this annoying little gnat first." Reaver stated darkly before quickly taking aim at Ember and firing off another shot at her… amazingly Reaver actually missed! Ember immediately dodged the bullet; her mane of unrestrained black hair trailed behind her like a cape made purely of shadows. She charged at Reaver and it looked like her hands were glowing with what looked like a menacing black and purple aura… and before Reaver could fire off another round at her; Ember suddenly created what looked like a dozen black, oily, spears seemingly made from shadows… a power eerily similar to the Crawler and Skorms darkness-based powers.

But just before the blood was really about to fly, Elizabeth managed to get in between the two. She drew her sword and used it to divert the angle of Reavers gun; while her other hand armed with a lightning gauntlet created a wall of dazzling electricity which both Ember herself and her Shadow Spears collided heavily with… and after a moment Ember was completely blown back about 20 feet in which she proceeded to land heavily on her head, but was quick to get back onto her feet and glare angrily at Elizabeth.

"Enough!" Elizabeth roared. "Reaver cool it! If you're pissed at her get in line! And Ember give Reaver back his cane!" Ember growled darkly at Elizabeth at this… as she disliked being told what to do. But she sighed in defeat and offered Reaver back his cane. Of course when he went to take it back Ember quickly pulled it back and used it to knock Reaver's hat off his head… she then just casually tossed the cane onto the ground at Reavers' feet successfully getting a hateful glare from the irritated businessman. Kaya just put her face in her hand and shook her head.

"Smoothe Ember… real smoothe." Kaya mumbled.

"Well aren't you a… spirited… creature." Reaver said equally irritated and seductive. Although Ember didn't pay him any mind. But she did give a quick glance to the ceiling… which Reaver also did; while he could have sworn he saw something… in the end he just thought he was just seeing things.

"What do you want Reaver?" Elizabeth questioned darkly.

"Why I came to personally invite you to my little party tonight… oh, and is that Logan I see?" Reaver said his ice blue eyes landing on the sickly former King. "I certainly hope to see you later this evening along with your dear sister."

"Thank you Reaver but please… go away, I'm in a meeting… although one quick question, why are you all wet?" Elizabeth couldn't help but ask. Reaver's smile immediately faded and he once again sent a glare in Embers direction.

"Hehehe…. That was me; I pushed him into the river back in Industrial." Ember chuckled innocently, although it was obvious she was extremely pleased with herself. She then placed her hands behind her head and seemed to get a somewhat bored look on her face. "Well, since it appears that you guys really have no use for my presence… I'm gonna get going. Although Kaya, I probably won't be seeing you for a few days. I'm going to go adventuring for a bit."

"Whatever Ember, just try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum." Kaya said not even looking at her sister. Ember just smiled mischievously and walked past Reaver who also began to take his leave rather than hang around and continue to try and seduce Elizabeth… Ember gave him an extremely smug smirk as she passed him; but rather than follow Reaver out through the front door, Ember made her way out to the garden… where the great black dragon Skorm still lay unconscious. Although it appeared that his broken bones and wounds that he had sustained earlier from his fight with Avo were now completely healed. Ember walked up to the colossal dragon and opened up its large red eye.

"Wake up Skormy… I need a ride." Ember said as the dragons eye suddenly focused and Skorm proceeded to wake up.

"Ember? Grrr… where is that Logan?" Skorm's snarling voice hissed as he began scanning the area for his intended prey and he stood up onto all fours and he flared out his massive black wings in an intimidating manner. Ember just rolled her eyes.

"You lost Skorm, just leave it at that. Let Logan be… for now." Ember said flatly touching the black dragons massive, curling, ram-like horns… immediately the horns seemed to become softer… more pliable. Ember proceed to hop up onto the mighty beasts back and she sat down comfortably in between his shoulder blades, his now pliable horns twisted behind his head and Ember held onto them wrapping them around her arms; using them as a pair of reigns. "Besides I've got to make a quick stop back at home."

"What for?" Skorm grunted… more than a little unhappy about having to give up on his plans to off Logan. But he obeyed Ember nonetheless.

"I need to pick up my favorite dress." Ember said with an evil giggle as she pulled back on Skorm's horns, causing him to rear up onto his back legs and with a mighty flap of his wings the great dragon took to the air, carefully circling around the castles tower as he gained altitude. "After all…" Ember continued…

"_I'm going to a party later tonight…"_

**(Meanwhile back inside the castle)**

"Now… for the last thing you need to know." Kaya said ominously. "…First know, that one day… after my Grandparents were killed, Great-Grandfather Alexander was raising my Mother when a thought occurred to him… and he asked Skorm and Avo what they would do if ever he and his bloodline died out… and this is what he had no choice but to warn your mother about."

"What?" Elizabeth asked… although a knot of pure dread had long formed in her chest… she was dreading this, almost more than she dreaded the Crawlers arrival.

"Should Alexander's bloodline ever be eclipsed, Skorm and I will attack Albion… and we will loose a hell down upon it the likes that it has never seen." Avo said emotionlessly.

…_A pin could be heard dropping from a mile away…_

"W-What?" Elizabeth said looking up at Avo both confused and horrified. "Why would you attack Albion?"

"Because… it's our nature, your majesty." Avo said adjusting his position on the ceiling. "We always heeded Alexander's wishes because he was our father, and his family is our family and we do deeply love our family… and Albion is our home… but... both Skorm and I were once revered as Gods, something that is still extremely appealing to us. It was something we also loved… so if our family is gone; we'd reign a terror down on your world and blow it back to the dark ages, back to when we ruled… we'd make the people worship us once again, or die. Simple as that." Avo commented so casually that it was unnerving. But suddenly he flared out his wings in an intimidating manner. "Also your highness… if you thought the Crawler was bad… Skorm and I are _**much**_ worse…"

"That… is the same warning that our Great-Grandfather Alexander gave your mother." Kaya said; her amethyst eyes suddenly seeming to come alive all the more. "Whether or not it had something to do with her death… All I know is that a week after she had this meeting with Alexander she was dead… I'm… I'm sorry Elizabeth, but you needed to know this. In case something should ever happen to me and Ember."

Elizabeth was silent… trying to process everything that Kaya had just told her. Quite frankly she thought that the Crawler was the worst thing she ever imagined fighting… she couldn't even begin to Fathom how bad going up against either Skorm or Avo would be… Logan was also silent, but for a very different reason… something Kaya had mentioned was dancing around in his mind…

"Kaya… are you immortal?" he asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Another flash illuminated through Kayas gem like eyes… but this was different than their last energetic flash… this one seemed to be filled with sorrow.

"Yes… I'm immortal, but… only up to a point." Kaya said softly. "It is part of the gift Skorm and Avo gave our family. Neither Ember, nor myself will age past our late twenties. Alexander just stopped aging when he took in the pair… anyone who marries into our family gets immortality; until their spouse passes… then they are mortal again. But our family is not entirely immortal; we can die if we sustain wounds grievous enough to kill us. Alexander died… in a fire that started in our home."

"Then of course… there is that one way." Avo mumbled… this earned him a sharp, angry look from Kaya.

"We don't need to go into that Avo!" she hissed angrily. But Avo seemed to focus all of his attention on Logan at this… his large creamy colored eyes suddenly became quite menacing. It sent a chill down Logan's spine

"I think we might… considering that you almost died that way Kaya. Just like your mother…" Avo said darkly… his voice was little more than a lethal hiss.

"Kaya?" Logan asked as Kaya put her face in her hands… unable to stop the silent tears from running down her face.

"Broken hearts… we can die from broken hearts." Kaya said through gritted teeth. Trying desperately to quell her tears but to no avail. "We can only fall in love once… with one person… forever… and unless we have something else to fill that emptiness should our heart break, we die. I… I don't know how my Great-Grandfather did it for so many hundred years."

_That struck Logan deeper than any sword…_

"I admit it… I loved you Logan. I loved you more than you can imagine! But… I can't do that again! I have only just picked up the pieces of my life from the last time! And now what? Even a blind man can see that you're sick." Kaya growled angrily at Logan who looked at her surprised.

"…Is it that obvious?" He questioned with a dry laugh… but clearly Kaya found nothing funny about it. But a light bulb just suddenly seemed to click on in Elizabeth's head.

"Can Avo heal my brother?" She asked hopefully… Avo's ears went backwards, like an angry dog.

"Yes…normally I can, but in your brothers case… I'm afraid I cannot." Avo said darkly.

"Why not?" Elizabeth demanded angrily. Although at this Avo released his grip on the ceiling, flared open his wings and descended on Elizabeth like a demonic bat. He got right in her face and he was emitting a low, menacing growl.

"Do not talk to me in that tone Your Majesty…" Avo threatened icily… "The reason I cannot heal your brother is because he has been touched by an element different than the one that I control… darkness… my magic cannot touch him; only one who has lordship over darkness can."

"You mean…" Elizabeth began.

"Only Skorm has the power to heal Logan… and he won't… no matter how much I beg him." Kaya finished having finally gotten a grip on her crying fit. She now stood before Logan…

_Kaya's heart was now raw and bleeding before him… _

_Logan's own heart was crying with the knowledge of just how badly he had hurt the woman he loved…_

_Nothing good could come of this…_


	7. The Party

**Chapter 7**

**The Party **

"This is a bad idea on so many levels Ember…" Skorm said gloomily as he sat outside of Kaya and Embers manor in his dragon form, looking through an open window into Embers bedroom… where Ember currently stood looking in a large mirror as she modeled what was clearly her favorite dress. It also appeared that Embers bedroom was rather nicely furnished; it contained a comfortable looking bed with black sheets and several red pillows… and what appeared to be a stuffed white Balverine sitting on the pillows… there was also a nightstand with a light and several other various items on it and at the foot of the bed there was an old trunk although what it contained was a mystery. Off to the side of the room there was a closet, and of course a very large gothic style mirror that Ember was currently looking into.

"You keep saying that Skorm, but you're yet to actually give me a good reason." Ember commented fixing the collar of her dress just a bit. Now only one thing could be said about Ember's current appearance…

…_She looked like a goddess…_

A dark goddess, but a goddess nonetheless. Embers dress was as black as a moonless night and was very long and flowing. It had long sleeves that became very wide at the cuffs, an elongated collar that tastefully displayed her cleavage, a deep blue sash was tied tightly around her midsection, and she also wore black dress shoes. It should be noted that while Ember's normal attire completely hid her form this dress showed it off; revealing her curvy and ultimately incredibly beautiful body. After finishing up the required adjustments on her ensemble, she quickly grabbed a black rubber-band off of a nearby doorknob, and she proceeded to tie her long black hair into a ponytail with it. She then turned around and faced the colossal dragon that was still looking in her window.

"So how do I look? Good enough to go to a party?" Ember questioned as a small playful smile appeared upon her features. But surprisingly there was also a hint of nervousness in her voice. For while Ember was completely confident when it came to her strength and prowess in fighting… when it came to dressing up and going to a party…well… it just wasn't her strong suit.

"You look too good… without a doubt Reaver will be drawn to you like a moth to a flame… So **Please** reconsider going!" Skorm pleaded… Well really it was more like he was whining. Naturally at this Ember just rolled her firelight colored eyes.

"I'm not reconsidering Skormy... I have been bored out of my mind for these last couple months, and now I have finally found something fun to do. But don't worry; I'm just planning on causing a little havoc. It's not like Reaver is actually going to seduce me or anything." Ember concluded turning her back to Skorm once again and refocusing her attention onto her reflection in the mirror. "You know… I think I'm missing something…" Ember muttered before she went over to an ivory jewelry box located on a nightstand next to her bed. She cautiously opened it revealing what was inside to be a beautiful glittering, diamond shaped, ruby gemstone that was set and woven into a silver chain. After a moment of consideration, Ember picked up this necklace and slipped it over her head letting it rest on her chest.

"Isn't that your most prized possession Ember?" Skorm questioned tilting his head a bit. "A Stone made of solid Will…"

"What's the point of having something to treasure if I never wear it? It's not being appreciated just sitting in a box all day." Ember said but after a moment she pulled another item out of that jewelry box and she quickly tucked it into her sash... Then she gave herself one more look over before returning her attention to Skorm with a broad smile upon her face. "That's settled, I'm ready to go." At this Ember walked over to the window and hopped onto Skorms' head, slid down his neck and took her usual position sitting on his back in between his shoulder blades… although due to the fact that she was now wearing a dress rather than her usual clothes, she now had to sit sidesaddle. Which when sitting on a dragon, was definitely not an easy thing to do. But still Skorm's horns unfurled from their ram like position and allowed Ember to grip them tightly just as she always did, which helped a lot with her stability.

"Ember please reconsider… You don't know Reaver. You do not know the monster he really is." Skorm growled darkly casting a glance back at the girl currently sitting on his back.

"And just how do you know him?" She questioned… now at this Skorm became very quiet, and after a few moments of consideration, he just shook his head.

"You know Ember I have told you that there are some things about the past that you… don't know all the details about yet. Well this is one of those things; although I promise to tell you when you're older." Skorm said as he spread his colossal wings and took to the air.

"I'm not a little girl anymore Skorm. You can tell me now, or not tell me at all." Ember stated dryly, although after that, much to Embers surprise the flight to Millfields became surprisingly quiet. As clearly Skorm was not going to be saying anything else on this matter… which was ok to Ember, as far as she was concerned if Skorm didn't want to tell her something, he didn't have too. But she'd just rather he didn't give her an excuse over her age or something silly like that.

…_not to mention it made Skorm stop asking her not to go…_

Once they reached the Millfields area, Skorm landed in the region that was once the old gypsy camp, and now served as the gateway into Driftwood. Skorm's secluded choice in a landing spot allowed Ember to easily hop off and quickly straighten out her dress.

"Well, I'm off… Skorm promise me that you won't cause a massacre while I'm not here." Ember said firmly causing Skorm to growl evilly with displeasure, but ultimately he gave the girl a reluctant nod.

"As long as you promise me that you'll come back with your virginity intact." Skorm commented. Now at this Ember blushed as red as a rose and stuttered slightly in embarrassment; but in the end she still muttered a low _'That's really none of your business but it's ok since I wasn't planning on losing that tonight'._ Although before she started walking towards Reavers mansion, she pulled out the item that she had tucked into her sash a little while earlier.

…_a mask…_

A really beautiful one at that. It wasn't a Balverine mask that most other members of the aristocracy would often wear to costume parties; no this mask was unique… it looked like it was modeled after the markings that a good hero would obtain around their eyes; but it was colored as black as Embers dress, and the eyes were hidden by a thin sheet of blue glass. Although like other aristocratic masks, it only covered the top portion of the wearers face. Ember slipped the mask on, completing her outfit… although it should be taken to note that Embers glowing firelight eyes were shining so brightly behind this mask that the blue glass appeared to be green in color rather than blue, but it still hid her rather distinct looking eyes.

"Well… it's time to see what kind of a party this Reaver is throwing." Ember commented as she began walking on her way towards Reaver's grand mansion. Although upon reaching his mansion a few minutes later, Ember would say one thing about the guy, he sure loved to show off. In fact it took all of Embers self-control not to whip up a quick fireball and blow the head off of his statue that was in his front yard.

…_Although depending on how her evening went, she might just do that later… _

Once she reached the manors door she toyed with the idea of knocking, something that she rarely ever did… although it was rare that she used the front door also, so she just decided that she'd just let herself in. But just as she was about to open the door, much to her surprise it opened for her. Well, it was more like the servant who was standing on the other side of the door opened it for her.

"Gweetings love; you must be hewe fow the… wow…" Barry Hatch started only to get more than a little surprised at the appearance of this particular guest as she was so particularly beautiful, especially considering that Barry was just used to seeing the same groups of people every week and they were all usually wearing the same type of costume as well… this lady was definitely different, and in a _**very**_ appealing way.

"Am I in time for the party?" Ember inquired careful to put on a fake accent. She was hoping that she could get in without any form of invitation. Of course… she was also hoping that if she ran into Reaver inside, he wouldn't recognize her from the events that had transpired earlier on in the day.

"Indeed you awe ma'am… but you should know you'we dwessed a bit diffewently than the west of the guests. You might stand out a wee bit." Barry commented as he let this strange woman inside.

"I'm sure that it'll be fine." Ember commented and she gave Barry a quick pat on his head.

…_of course in less than a second Barry found himself outside of the mansion, and a quick click of the lock indicated that Ember had just locked him out…_

"Wha-? Hey! Let me back in!" Barry demanded angrily and he began pounding on the door repeatedly for a few minutes. Of course after he calmed down he realized that this _**would**_ be an ideal time to take a break, reaching into his pocket he found the small bottle of cooking sherry he'd swiped earlier in the evening, uncorked it and took a small sip.

…_that was when he felt an uncomfortably warm breeze on the back of his neck…_

The ginger haired servant turned around only to stare into a black dragons blood red eyes. Skorm had silently followed Ember up to the mansions front door and now he was currently glaring evilly down at Reaver's ever unfortunate butler. At the moment he was trying to figure out how he should dispose of him; currently he was tied between eating him and burning him to a crisp… naturally he'd have to kill him, he had seen him! He should start screaming any second-

Although much to his surprise Barry didn't start screaming, hell he didn't even seem scared. He just stared up at the looming dragon and then looked at the bottle of sherry he was still holding. Then he just chuckled a little bit and took another swig of it.

"I guess I must have gwabbed some of the good stuff… hope Mastah Weaver doesn't find out." He said in a somewhat jovial tone. "Good dragon…" he added quickly patting Skorm on the nose… and before the somewhat shocked creature could react; Barry put the bottle in his mouth and quickly transformed into his Ginger Balverine form and jumped up onto the top of Reaver's mansion… no doubt in order to begin his '_break_.'

…_really?_

Skorm just stared in the direction that the strange little butler had disappeared off into. Very rarely was he too stunned by an individual's complete stupidity to react, but it did appear that this was one of those times… he toyed with the idea of flying up to the top of the roof and killing the little git; but ultimately he decided against it.

"_He's in far more danger from himself than from me… really… how has such a clearly unlucky individual managed to live this long?"_ Skorm thought to himself as he once again focused his attention on the mansion that lay before him and his eyes narrowed dangerously… but before he could even so much as toy around with different ideas of how to destroy this manmade eyesore, a sound suddenly caught his attention. It was the sound of gigantic wings beating…

Avo flew over Reavers mansion; although he flew just low enough to catch Skorms attention… the albino Wyvern then glided over several other houses before he clearly landed in the forested area that had once been the old gypsy camp and where Skorm had also previously landed in. **(If either of the two had to land in Millfields, the old gypsy camp was actually their preferred landing zone as it would draw the least amount of attention from the locals.)** Skorm didn't need to give any thought to why his rival had flown low enough to capture his attention; Avo had done it deliberately so that he could to tell him about what had transpired between Kaya and Logan in his absence. So Skorm with an ever irritated growl spread his wings and headed back over to the area that he had just come from.

_Ember was just going to have to take care of herself for now…_

_**(Inside of Reavers Mansion)**_

_Now saying that the party was not quite what Ember had expected… was a major understatement..._

When someone said the word '_Party'_ to Ember she usually assumed that there would be things like music, drinking, and dancing. What she was seeing now was quite different from her definition of a '_Party_.' This was definitely **NOT** what Ember had been expecting; well all accept for the drinking part… but that was about it. This was not a party… this was a full blown orgy!

"_Skorm is going to hold this over me for the rest of my life." _Ember thought angrily to herself as she quickly sidestepped a random noble as he fainted from having clearly been drinking way too much. It went without saying that as far as Ember was concerned; this party was now a complete bust. And what was worse, she couldn't just walk back out through the front door; she'd just locked that little Balverine butler outside… it was a good thing she was so used to telling the difference between normal people and Balverines in disguise… and right now she also didn't really want to deal with Skorm's never-ending _'I told you so's.'_ So after dodging a few other drunken people, Ember found herself sitting at the large piano not too far from the mansions entranceway and after sitting in silence for a little while and watching several couples and trios disappear into some of the other rooms to no doubt continue with their sexual escapades, she found herself bored out of her skull… _again_… So naturally she began looking around for a way to entertain herself.

**…well, she was sitting at a piano…**

Ember turned around and began to play it. Surprisingly she was a very skilled pianist; as her Great Grandfather had insisted that both Ember and Kaya each learn to play an instrument. While Kaya had learned to play the violin, Ember had originally chosen the lute… but she was so bad at it that Avo wound up completely destroyed the damn thing, claiming that while all lute's in general all sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard to him, Embers lute playing had sounded like someone trying to skin a wild Balverine while it was still alive… so for the sake of her family's eardrums, Ember had changed over to the piano.

_And she could play beautifully. _

_So beautifully in fact that it actually attracted the attention of a certain Deviant Tycoon…_

Reaver had just finished '_Entertaining'_ several of his latest party guests. Now the lot had passed out within his pleasure chamber; the problem now was that he could still go for another round only there were not enough guests, much to his dismay. But imagine his surprise when he suddenly began to hear beautiful music echoing through the vast halls of his manor. After donning an expensive silken robe, he headed out to locate the source of the enchanting melody… only to find a strange and beautiful woman sitting at his piano, playing it with great skill.

"And just who might you be my dear?" He purred seductively as he came up behind her, causing the strange woman to jump slightly. She clearly hadn't been expecting someone to approach her and she thus stopped playing due to her obvious shock. "I don't believe that you were on my guest list; and I'm positive that I would recall one so gifted as yourself… as I must say, you are very talented with your hands."

"Why, thank you… it is Reaver isn't it?"

"Well isn't this a treat, I have a visitor to my humble home who doesn't seem to know who I am. Now how is that possible my dear?" He inquired. After all an individual not knowing who he was… come on, everybody knew who he was. "And if you truly don't know who I am, what are you doing in my house?"

"I do not get out much." Ember replied coolly, she could play the part of a naïve individual with the skill of a trained actress. And quite frankly this Reaver fellow was if nothing an amusing individual… she wondered just how much she could tease him. Not in the sexual way, but for something to do in order to kill some time.

_She was bored after all..._

"I heard about this party of yours and I came hoping for a little fun. I do hope that you could forgive me for my lack of an invitation, but I do so enjoy parties. It was hard to resist Mr. Reaver." Ember explained as she stood up from the piano. Reaver couldn't help but laugh.

"Apology accepted love; in fact I'm glad to have another guest especially someone new… and as beautiful as you are." Reaver cooed. "Well then, shall we proceed to my bedchambers in order to get to know one another better?" Now it was Embers turn to laugh.

"Oh, you are quite the charmer Reaver… Only… I'm afraid that your party is not quite what I had been expecting." She answered quite honestly. "It's hard for me to be in the mood without a little… fun?" This did not dissuade Reaver in the slightest; in fact this just made things far more interesting. As he simply loved challenges.

"Really? Well since I am such a gracious host, what kind of fun were you expecting my dear?" Reaver inquired seizing Ember's hand and pulling her close. She giggled a bit at this but in a single fluid movement freed herself from Reaver's grip.

"Perhaps some dancing? What is any party without dancing? And you'd be surprised at the game I like to play with my dance partner." Ember answered; again this was her honest opinion as she did love to dance with all of her heart. A surprisingly girly pastime for the normally tomboyish hero. Reaver however gave this a moment of thought before finding the idea of dancing rather enticing. And he was also curious as to just what this dark beauty's game was.

"Dancing you say? Why what a wonderful idea!" Reaver laughed merrily before quickly retreating back into his private quarters and after several moments he returned fully dressed in his usual garb and accompanied by several still dazed partygoers that seemed to have been roused from their near coma like states by Reaver. After he quickly fiddled with one of the many gadgets he owned it began to play a recording of some festive music.

"What a curious device." Ember acknowledged having had her curiosity piqued; but she never got a chance to inspect the device as her hand was once again captured Reaver and he pulled her close and began to lead her in the dance. Ember smiled mischievously at Reaver and just as he was in the middle of leading her through the upbeat dance she turned the tables on him and took the lead herself! A seductive purr escaped from Reaver and he licked his lips. This evening had just gotten much more interesting, apparently this woman's game was a play for dominance. A game he had no intentions of losing. Whoever this stranger was she was certainly going to be entertaining one way or another.

…_the battle for power had begun… _

**(Meanwhile back in the Ruins of the old Gypsy Camp)**

"What kept you?" Skorm demanded as Avo stretched out his wings, his bones cracking loudly as he did so. Both of the Void Creatures had exited their dragon-like transformations and had returned to their true forms. Only now Skorm seemed to be even more agitated than he was earlier, but this didn't seem to bother Avo what-so-ever.

"I wanted to stay with Kaya until she had made up her mind about what she wanted to do." Avo explained calmly to his ever impatient companion.

"Which is?" Skorm pressed.

"She has… she has decided to remain at the castle for a while. To reconcile with Logan." Avo explained with a distinctly sad tone in his voice. Skorm growled wrathfully at this revelation, his glowing red eyes became visible once again as he roared and plowed his fist into a tree. This caused said tree to immediately break in two and crash to the ground.

**"****Damn it all to the burning pit! Why did you let her do that? Don't you know what will happen?!" **Skorm roared hatefully as he got right up in Avo's face. **"Don't you care?!"** Avo remained quiet for a moment as his ears flattened against his head and a look of brooding anger formed behind his nearly blind eyes.

"You don't seem to grasp just how much I **do** care Skorm." Avo replied in an ice cold tone. "I love Kaya, but I cannot interfere in her choices. They are hers to make and hers alone."

"Even if she will _**die**_ because of those choices?" Skorm demanded. "We nearly lost her once! You taught her to be so weak…" At this Skorm turned his back to Avo and he cast his angry gaze towards the moon. "At least Ember is not weak, I taught her to be stronger than that… to be stronger than-" he stopped. It was like he was unable to finish what he was saying. But clearly Avo got the message.

"You never got over what happened to Rebecca. She was… a wonderful child; and Alexander loved her like she was his daughter rather than his granddaughter. But when she fell in love with that… that noble…" Avo began but was interrupted by another angry growl from Skorm.

"He used her and didn't give a damn! He **ruined** her! He **destroyed** her!" he snapped. "That was why when Ember was born I knew I had to watch out for her! Rebecca was starting to lose her mind and her health to that wretched fool! He never loved her or either of his children! Ember saw how love was killing her mother; I took her under my wing as soon as I could… just as you did for Kaya."

"There is only a year of difference in their ages, but that year still amounts to a lot when one considers everything that they have gone through. I don't know if Ember truly remembers what happened to her mother… but she undoubtedly knows it had to do with falling in love with someone she shouldn't. Kaya never had the same fears because I never instilled them in her." Avo commented. "Poor Rebecca never got a chance to teach her children much of anything, since she died when they were so young."

"You fool! You should have taught Kaya better! It would have prevented all the troubles we're having now!"

"But then we'd have more of the same problems that we now have with Ember." Avo retorted. Skorm just scoffed at this.

"There's nothing wrong with Ember! I taught her well!" he hissed lethally at Avo, who merely shook his head and his ears drooped sadly.

"Ember is a mess and you cannot deny it." He muttered. "She has never had any friends… due to the fact that she can't develop normal human connections with anyone. She's always on the outside looking in… cold and distant. No matter what she tries she never really gets ahead. Perhaps it's because you let her see all the horrors of falling in love and the dangers of friendship… and none of the good. And when she witnessed what happened to Kaya all those beliefs were just drilled deeper into her. She's broken Skormy… maybe broken beyond repair."

"…shut up…" Skorm whispered so low that no one would normally have been able to hear him. But Avo heard him as clear as a bell... and having lived with his companion for so many years, he knew that what he had just said had actually hurt Skorm more than if someone stabbed a poisoned dagger straight through his heart. His ears drooped again at this, as that had not been his intent.

"But you're right… I am every bit as responsible for what has become of Kaya." Avo muttered also looking up at the full moon. "Perhaps she gave her heart away to easily. And if she continues down this path… she will die in sorrow. Just like Rebecca did."

"Alexander killed her husband before we could… shame… I wish I could have been there to watch him die." And at this Skorm grew silent once again, his ruby glowing eyes fell once again to darkness and he knelt down placing his hand on the forehead of his mask, as though he was suffering from a terrible headache. Again Avos knowledge of his companion let him know just what had brought on this particular headache.

"We both miss Alexander. We miss all of our deceased family…but… I believe that I'm better at dealing with the pain than you are. Our wounds are equally deep, but mine seem to heal, whilst for you every one of those same wounds are just as open and raw as when they happened. Even... even though you are closer to Ember you're still trying to help Kaya because you dread the thought of losing either of them. But heaven forbid something should happen to Ember… even if nothing happens to Kaya, if Ember dies… you'll never recover from it." Avo observed but it was not intended in a malicious way. Skorm said nothing at first but he wiped away something from his hidden eyes.

…_he'd never ever admit that he was capable of crying…_

"So what do we do then, oh Great and Wise Avo?" Skorm growled irritably at the albino who now stood next to him.

"I will try not to get involved. No surprise there… it's not my place. I will merely offer advice. You on the other hand could do something nice for Kaya and heal Logan."

"Something's actually wrong with him?" Skorm asked surprised. Avo nodded.

"He's dying. In a rather slow, debilitating and painful way I might add… even though I know how much this pleases you I thought that for Kayas sake you could overlook it; especially since he was touched by darkness, my magic is useless in trying to help. But yours-"

"Forget it, I can't fix him either… the last time I tried to heal something… well, you remember how the bunny exploded." Skorm explained; this did get a round of laughter from Avo.

"Oh, now I remember that, that was back in our childhood… hehe, that was amusing. Not for the rabbit I'm sure but still." After a moment of reminiscing back to happier times, his expression quickly returned to normal. "So… that's it then? There is really nothing that you can do?"

"Afraid so Avo. I'm Afraid so…"


	8. Making a Bet

_**First off I'd like to apologize once again for how long it took me to get the update up, as I've had some other stories that also required some updates… at one point I'd even accidently put a chapter from another story up on this fic on accident, and I apologize for that. **_

_**I also wanted to say that I have actually gone through the previous chapters I have written for this fic and did some much needed correcting and editing. Hopefully it will be easier to read now and the story will flow much smoother. **_

**Chapter 8**

**Making a Bet **

…_Reaver hadn't had this much fun in a long time…_

Of course he hadn't actually had to work at seducing someone in ages. This surprise guest at his little gathering was a delightful breath of fresh air into what had become a somewhat repetitive cycle of parties. Not that he didn't enjoy them they were just becoming… well, a little bit dull. He had been longing for something exciting to happen. Currently he had seized control of the dance and had begun making small talk with this strange beauty. Well actually saying that was incorrect, it was more like he was talking; period. He was so engrossed with talking about his favorite subject… namely himself… that he failed to acknowledge that his dance partner was no longer even trying to steal the lead from him. In fact a somewhat grim look was starting to write itself upon her face. Like she was starting to wonder when this dance would be over. It had been fun at first… now it had devolved into listening to a rich creep rant.

"Has anyone ever told you that you seem to be in love with the sound of your own voice?" Ember questioned, interrupting Reaver's little speech about how great he was. Even though her voice definitely held a noticeable amount of agitation it didn't seem to dissuade Reaver at all.

"Why yes several people have indeed come to that conclusion." Reaver confirmed. "And I must admit that it is quite true, my voice is lovely isn't it?"

"Charming…" Ember said dryly. Reaver smiled a little more at his guests' irritated tone.

"Oh, silly me. Here I am telling you tales of my greatest triumphs and in the meantime I don't even know your name. Care to enlighten me as to what your name is my dear?" At that Ember slipped completely out of Reavers grasp and walked into the center of the room, her back turned to him.

"My name? I'll tell you but I don't think you're gonna like it…" She said mischievously as she took her mask off but was careful to keep her back turned to the Deviant Tycoon.

"Oh? Why would I not like your name?" Reaver inquired curiously.

"My name," Ember said turning around to face Reaver. "is Ember." There was something almost humorous about how all the glee within Reaver's eyes just crumbled and died. And just as quickly as his glee died, anger took its place.

"You!" He snapped recognizing her as the woman who had pushed him into the river and he had subsequently tried to shoot earlier in the day. Ember chuckled as this recognition dawned on him.

"Yep, it's me. Now since I don't need to be polite anymore I'll just say what I've been thinking all night. You sir are an arrogant ass… and you throw a terrible party." Ember said coyly; only to be made aware of several loud growling sounds coming from directly behind her. She quickly looked behind her only to see that most, if not all, of Reaver's party guests had transformed into Balverines and were looking at her hungrily. Upon looking back at Reaver she was greeted with the sight of Reaver's DragonStomper .48 pointed straight at her forehead. Embers blazing eyes flashed dangerously for a minute and her smile grew a little wider.

"Nice toy. But I'm not really interested in playing anymore with you tonight... unless you know some different games." She commented waving her hand in a nonchalant sort of way.

"Any last words before you die?"

"I should think so, considering that I'm not going to be dying here and I happen to love the sound of my own voice almost as much as you love yours. I guess that I will just have to pick the new game then…" That was when Reaver began to notice that Embers shadow was changing. Long oily black, tendrils began to rise up from around her body. They moved like writhing serpents and strongly resembled the darkness related slime that the Crawler and Skorm had been able to create.

Reaver pulled the trigger and the gun fired… only Ember didn't even so much as flinch, let alone drop dead. The reason for this was revealed to be the writhing tendrils of darkness had actually blocked the bullet before it had gotten to her. Her coy smile only grew at this; finally things were starting to get interesting! In a single fluid movement she lashed out, kicking Reaver square in the chest and knocking him back a good five feet.

"Let the party **really** begin!" She laughed as most of the Balverines suddenly rushed towards her! At this she brought her hand back and an eerie black light began blooming in her palm. She quickly channeled the dark energy into the form of a Blades Spell, just like the one she had performed earlier at the castle. With a single fluid movement, the dark blades flew out and impaled several of the snarling beasts causing them to shriek horribly; a few even dropped dead from the blades piercing their vital organs. Not happy at the thought of fighting a pack of raging Balverines with magic alone, Ember extended her hand and reached into one of the oozing black tendrils and surprisingly pulled out her sword.

"_Skormy wasn't kidding when he said that using my magic to store weapons would be useful."_ She thought to herself just as one of the Balverines went to bite her… only before it could sink it's teeth into her did she jab her sword into its gaping maw, causing the blade to come out the other side of its head. Blood splattering everywhere as she did so…

_A new dance began…_

_A dance of death…_

Embers skill with a sword was almost legendary. Skorm himself had commented that even Heros whom had trained all their lives at the Hero's Guild couldn't even begin to scrape the surface of her raw talent. During her time with the Royal Guards, many of her fellow soldiers learned that not only was Ember gifted with a blade… she absolutely _**loved**_ to use it. Even in situations where force was completely uncalled for! It drove many of the other guards mad and gave her a very nasty reputation. At some point Walter had taken her under his wing and tried to teach her to control her violent tendencies… but ultimately it had been in vain. Ember longed for battle and was currently undefeated…

But back to the situation at hand; while Ember was slicing and dicing any Balverine unfortunate enough to be in her path, Reaver had recovered and was currently shooting bullet after bullet at this annoying little wench! But every bullet he shot at her was effortlessly deflected by those black tendrils that were still writhing around her form. So much for his party, it wasn't this aggravating when Princess Elizabeth and Page had fought their way through his home! At least they behaved better than this bitch; they didn't run wildly around a room beheading Balverines while laughing like madmen! But after beheading another of the hairy monstrosities, something happened…

_Embers sword began to glow with a dazzling white light…_

_Her blade was a living weapon… _

_And it was evolving…_

The sudden burst of light scared nearly all of the remaining Balverines into retreating. Once the light cleared, it was revealed that Embers sword had mutated… its blade had changed until it was nothing but a gleaming shard of red crystal that seemed to glow in response to Embers Will. While the hilt had become arcane in design; the wood was as black as night while the stone in its handle was also blood red.

"Now this is nice! I've been waiting for this blade to finish evolving… hehe; I guess a little Blaverine blood was all that it needed." Ember chuckled with malicious glee. Of course marveling at her new weapon would have to be put on hold for a while; a bullet whizzed past her right ear so close that she actually felt it touch. Had Ember actually been paying attention she would have noticed that the light her blade had emitted had accidentally affected her dark tendrils… damaging them so they were only just barely able to deflect the most recent on-coming bullet. Realizing that she might be in a little over her head Ember decided it was time for plan B.

_Run like hell… _

And she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, down the hall and out the front door quickly slamming it closed behind her. Reaver was following closely behind; he'd almost caught up with her when she'd gotten outside. He angrily kicked the door open…

_Only Ember had somehow disappeared…_

"Damn it!" Reaver growled looking around, seeing if he could locate this annoying bitch whom seemed to have taken a liking to ruining his fun. But as his eyes slowly scanned the surrounding area… the sound of Embers nearly maniacal laughter suddenly resounded from all around him.

"Not bad, you might not be as dull as I was originally thinking you were. But you still fall way short of what you brag that you're capable of." Her voice chuckled wickedly.

"You have hardly given me a chance to show you my true talents my dear." Reaver replied maliciously, but he stopped as his eyes suddenly locked onto a shadowy form, standing a ways away from him. Without a second thought he shot at it… and the form collapsed. The laughing voice went silent as soon as he did this, causing him to believe that he'd just put a bullet in the annoyances head.

"Such a pity." He muttered to himself as he strode over to the fallen figure. "It seems that it was you who was unable to show what you claimed to be capable of." Of course when he reached what it was that he had shot, he was surprised to see that it wasn't Ember… in fact it wasn't even human at all!

_It was nothing but a human-shaped construct of the god-awful black liquid… _

"I haven't even started! But I am getting tired of this… since this evening hasn't exactly played out the way I'd hoped. How about something different then? Let's play a new game... my game." At this she got behind Reaver and tapped his shoulder. He turned around only to stare into Embers burning eyes, an impish smile present upon her face.

"Are you at all aware that I could blow your head off right now?" He questioned coldly. Not that it seemed to faze Ember in the slightest.

"You could… but you're curious. You strike me as a man who likes games and the game I'm talking about is unlike anything you've ever played before. Interested? I think you are." Now this actually got Reaver to laugh, his agitation dying down… for the moment anyway.

"I do admit that you're a very entertaining individual Miss Ember. And yes I do like games… especially if there was a wager on it." He chuckled darkly. Ember blinked once in surprise, clearly she hadn't thought about making a bet. Although judging by the evil smile that crossed her face she immediately took a liking to the idea.

"What would you want to bet exactly? I don't think I have anything you'd want… except for this stone which I'm not going to part with..." She said gesturing to the pendant she currently wore. "So… would you want a stuffed White Balverine? Because that's pretty much all I've got… aside from gold."

_Reaver stared blankly at her for a second…_

"I have no need for trinkets or money… let alone stuffed Balverines… I have plenty of money and a living Balverine for a servant."

"You mean the big ginger-colored one that's passed out on the roof with a bottle of cooking sherry lodged in it's mouth?" Ember asked pointing to the roof on Reaver's mansion. The Deviant Tycoon cast an annoyed glance up to his roof and saw that Barry Hatch was indeed in his full fuzzy Balverine form and out like a light.

"Remind me to whip him later…" He said flatly before returning his attention to Ember. "Back to the subject at hand; what I'd want from you my dear… is your body." He wasn't going to deny that he found this woman, Ember, to be extremely attractive. Especially now that he was seeing her in that beautiful dress rather than her usual, less-than-flattering outfit. Now upon realizing exactly what he meant Embers eyes widened… and a blush overcame her normally pale features. But a look of anger quickly overtook her and she glared daggers into him.

"_Skorm really wasn't kidding when he warned me about this guy… but if that's the way he wants to play it…"_ After a second the calm, smug look returned to her face and she smiled with false sincerity.

"Ok fine… it's not like you'll actually be beating my score anyway." Ember said with a shrug. Reaver laughed; oh this was going to be **fun!**

"Alright, what would you want from me should by some fluke I should lose whatever this mysterious game is?" He chuckled.

"Aren't you a little over-confident? I mean you don't even know what my game is yet and you're already sure that you're gonna win?" Ember asked shortly. But then she just sighed and shrugged. "As for what I'll take once you lose… hmm, I don't have anything in mind. But I'll think of something later."

"Fair enough." Reaver acknowledged. "Now just what is this game of yours?"

"It's a secret. I'm not telling…" Ember sneered. "Even if I told you it wouldn't help. But I will give you a slight hint."

"Hmmm?"

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" She asked innocently.

"Yes."

"When it's trying to buck you off?"

"Um… yes." Reaver answered suddenly getting a bit suspicious as to what this game was. "Please tell me that this game of yours has nothing to do with that wretched past time of bull-riding. That's just undignified and can hardly be called a game at all."

"No, it's not bull riding. Although I admit there are some similarities." Ember muttered before looking him over again. "The only real tip I can give you is to wear something else. Something more… erm… durable and less… whatever the hell you're wearing is."

"I'll have you know that these clothes are very fashionable!" Reaver said almost defensively.

"Yeahhh… right." She said in less than convinced voice. "Meet me just before sunrise tomorrow in the area that was once the old gypsy camp. When I arrive, I'm pretty sure the game will become pretty self-explanatory at that point."

"You do of course realize that if this little game of yours isn't everything that you're making it out to be I might just kill you out of disappointment." Reaver informed her. Ember just gave him an irritated glare.

"Just be ready to play…" She grumbled before slowly closing her eyes… just as a boiling pool of darkness suddenly appear around her feet and within less than a second it seemed to rise up and envelop Embers body before disappearing entirely. Taking Ember with it… Which ultimately left Reaver alone standing just outside of his manor. Not that he minded being alone in the least. He quickly holstered his Dragonstomper .48 and headed back inside; making a mental note of the things he needed to do in order to prepare for his little 'date' with Miss Ember. But first things first…

_He had a servant to punish…_

But what Reaver and Ember had both failed to notice during their little chat... was that they were being watched from the shadows; or to more appropriately state the facts they were being watched _**by**_ the shadows. As hidden within the darkness around Reavers grand Lakeside Mansion were several humanoid figures. Each figure seemed to be made of a living shadow, they were dark and mostly transparent… but they each possessed a pair of ominous, glowing red eyes. There were three of these figures; standing there amongst the darkness… their empty eyes stared without any trace of emotion, without any real sustenance, indeed these were beings that possessed no souls of their own. They were merely puppets, sent to do a job for their puppeteer. And now it was time to report what they had witnessed…

As they moved through the shadows their forms seemed to blur together into one massive snake like form and yet the three pairs of eyes remained at what could be deduced to be the serpents head. When this creature reached the water's edge it slipped beneath the surface without so much as causing a ripple on the lakes surface. It swam downward and slid across the lakes bottom until after a bit of searching it found what it was looking for; a tiny crack that led the shadow underground…

_And into the ruins of the old Hero's Guild…_

With all of the construction that had occurred in the Bower Lake area over the years it was not really that surprising that most of what remained of the Guild had flooded. Most of the passages had flooded… but the Chamber of Fate, while extremely damp and indeed flooding in some areas, its main plateau remained dry.

_Although this chamber looked like something straight out of a nightmare… _

While not entirely flooded with water, the room was dripping wet with the same liquid darkness that had once threatened to overrun all of Albion two years ago. It was splashed everywhere and actually poured down from the ceiling in some areas. But within this hellish room was something far more frightening than the darkness… It was the creature that lived within the said darkness. The creature that had come closer to destroying all life in Albion than any other…

_The Crawler…_

"You bring news to us…" The hideous creature rasped as it limped forward towards its now serpent like servant as it rose up from the water and divided once again into three different shadows. Whilst the shadows whispered nearly undecipherable hisses and growls to their master, one could easily see that the Crawler had undoubtedly seen better days. Its head was now adorned with deep, nasty scars that looked extremely painful. It was now blind in two of its eyes and it moved with a noticeable limp. Clearly the creature possessed other injuries to its body that were currently hidden beneath its tattered robe. After the shadows finished saying whatever it was they were reporting, the Crawler hissed loudly in anger.

"So we weren't mistaken in what we were feeling. There are others of our kind near…" When the Crawler spoke its voice was filled with anger and fear… mostly fear. "It is luck that they haven't taken notice of our presence yet. But if they find us we will be destroyed… we are far too weak." The creature turned away from its soulless servant and seemed to become lost deep in its thoughts. "We must stay hidden longer… we must heal."

"_And then we will tear this world asunder!"_

"_Revenge will be ours!" _

_**That's it for now! Please remember to Read and Reviews!**_


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